Village Board votes in favor of new Catty property redevelopment; Parking site improvement plans next to be finalized

HUNTLEY — At the March 14 Village Board meeting, Huntley’s Deputy Village Manager Lisa Armour, briefly highlighted the key terms of the purchase and sale agreement between the village and developer True North Properties, Inc. for a portion of the Catty property located at 1117 South Church Street.

Armour told trustees that the developers would be buying a portion of the property for $100,000, while also explaining that the redevelopment project itself represents “about a $5 million private investment in the TIF district.”

True North Properties is not requesting any TIF assistance for the project, according to Armour, however, the developer needs to provide the village with a cash deposit of $800,000 which is to be held until the completion of the building shell.

“The developer will commence construction within 30 days after closing with substantial completion by July 30, 2023. If the developer fails to substantially complete the project by that date, the developer would pay the village liquidated damages in the amount of $100 per day until such work is complete,” Armour told trustees. “In conjunction, the village will also complete the adjacent public parking lots by July 30, 2023. The village agrees to waive all building permit fees, water and sewer connection and tap-on fees, and impact and transition fees.”

Director of Development Services Charlie Nordman followed up on Armour’s brief presentation by then explaining to the trustees that there would also need to be zoning approvals by the board.

According to Nordman, the property was needing to be rezoned from “M-Manufacturing” to “R-5-Multiple Family Residential.”

In addition, the board needed to approve a special use permit for multi-family residential, approve a preliminary and final plat of subdivision, and lastly, approve the special use permit for preliminary and final Planned Unit Development (PUD).

“The preliminary final plat of subdivision will subdivide the existing property into two lots. Lot 1 will be sold to True North Properties. This is being created for the existing building involved. [It] primarily consists of the building’s footprint and a small area of property surrounding it,” said Nordman. “The remaining property is identified as Lot 2 and will remain under the village’s ownership. This will be utilized for expanded parking areas to accommodate the apartments as well as downtown businesses.”

As a reminder, Nordman explained that the redeveloped Catty property building—which will be renamed The Cornell—will consist of 17 studio apartments, 16 one-bedroom, and two two-bedroom apartment units.

Nordman added that the overall structure of the Catty property building will remain the same, except for having the building white-washed due to the multiple types of brick that have been used on the building over the years.

“They’ve explained that whitewashing the building will give it a uniform appearance,” stated Nordman. “Other notable changes will be the addition of a cornice treatment along the top of the building for a portion of the east, north, and south elevations, as well as PTAC units, which are the air conditioning units that would be located in the windows.”

The village anticipates that residents of The Cornell will be provided with vehicle stickers to allow them to park in any of the village’s public parking lots overnight.

Following Nordman’s presentation, Trustee Niko Kanakaris asked if it was possible to move the trash enclosure for the apartments to the side of the building instead of having it in the center of the parking lot.

Nordman explained that the current proposed location of the trash enclosure was the easiest point of access for the apartment residents, given that the primary entrance is on the east elevation of the building.

Mayor Tim Hoeft proceeded to ask if it was possible to place decorative grates that will be covering the air conditioning units, on every window in the building to give the property a more uniform appearance.

Representatives for True North Properties stated that they would look into it with the architect to see if it was functionally possible.

Seeing as there were no more comments or questions from the other board members, a motion was made to approve all agenda items regarding the Catty property building redevelopment. The motion passed unanimously.

Next, Village Manager Dave Johnson told trustees that staff members were seeking authorization from the board for bids relating to infrastructure improvements regarding the parking lot expansion and site improvements for the Church Street lot and The Cornell development of the former Catty property.

“Just as we did on the Woodstock Street parking lot, we’d like the board’s authorization to proceed with the plan and put it out on the street for bid. It would include landscaping and fencing, as well as the patio landscape feature on the north side of the building. We’ve discussed and are in the process of finalizing the underground stormwater detention to maximize the development area on that site,” said Johnson. “We will reserve space for the future train station and platform and the amenity that’s shown as a gateway into the train station area, but obviously, those amenities wouldn’t be constructed as part of the first phase of the project.”

As a final point, Johnson added that the Fiscal Year 2022 budget includes a little over $2.8 million reserved for the construction and engineering of the Church Street parking lot.

The village also authorized $1.5 million in general obligation debt for infrastructure improvements in the downtown area back in 2020. According to Johnson, those bond proceeds are available for a portion of the parking lot project if needed.

The village board voted unanimously to approve the authorization to seek bids for the Church Street parking lot expansion. Those final plans will be brought before the board at a later date.