Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce officially moves into its new home

HUNTLEY — As previously reported in My Huntley News, the developer of the former Catty property, True North Properties, Inc., came before the Village Board on Jan. 12, expressing their interest in purchasing the former Huntley Village Hall building located at 11704 Coral Street.

True North came forward with conceptual renderings for the redevelopment of the building, which will see it be converted to accommodate it for restaurant use.

A deadline date of Jan. 27 was set for the invitation of alternative bids and proposals for the former Village Hall building, but no other propositions from developers were submitted. With that, village staff began drafting a Purchase and Sale Agreement and a Redevelopment Agreement with True North Properties.

At the same time as that deal was taking place, the Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce began its preparation to move its headquarters out of the former Village Hall building that it called its home for many years.

The announcement was made on the Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page on Sept. 28, where the new location of its headquarters was revealed.

“Beginning Monday (Oct. 2), you can find the Chamber office in the front office space of Union Special. We’ve been diligently renovating this new space for the past few months,” read the Chamber’s Facebook post. “A big thank you goes out to our renovation sponsors—O’Connor Electric, Inc., Tolstar Painting Specialists, Marksmans Repair, Incredible Builders, Inc., and Sherwin Williams—whose generous support has transformed the space into a perfect office and conference room for our staff and our members.”

The Chamber went on to thank Union Special for being so welcoming while settling in, also stating that they look forward to showcasing their new space to area residents.

Following that post, on Sept. 30, the Chamber shared a photo of its final member meeting at the old Village Hall building, as True North begins work on redeveloping the former Village Hall.

New conceptual plans for the former Village Hall building include a one-story addition that would result in approximately 5,115 square feet of space, with a basement area of 1,890 square feet under the new addition.

The proposed design would be able to accommodate seating for up to 217 people and is designed to allow for overflow and/or banquet space within the new addition.

The conceptual plans also include an outdoor patio space that would be created along the Church Street frontage and would wrap along the front elevation of the building on Coral Street.

The interior would be designed to allow for the northern section of the building to operate as a stand-alone retail space if for some reason a restaurant would no longer operate out of the building. The north elevation is expected to include a pick-up window for carry-outs, according to village staff.

While True North states that they do have an interested tenant lined up, the identity of that tenant has not been released.