Lions Chase retail development plan approval delayed amid design disagreement

HUNTLEY — Plans for three speculative multi-tenant commercial buildings to be constructed on Lot 205 of the Fitzgerald Subdivision faced an unexpected delay at the July 25 Village Board meeting as trustees and the petitioner were unable to reach a consensus on the proposed design.

The retail complex, which is currently being marketed to commercial, personal service, retail, office, medical office, and restaurant users, has been a topic of considerable discussion for residents of the nearby Lions Chase Subdivision mostly due to traffic safety concerns.

At the Village Board meeting, there were varying opinions among trustees regarding the development. Some board members, like Trustee Ric Zydorowicz, had no issues with the building elevations presented by the petitioner and owner of the lot, Inder Virk. However, others such as Trustee Ronda Goldman, continued to express concerns about the potential traffic risks while also telling Virk, “I don’t know where you’re going to get 14 businesses from.”

Despite allegedly having been speaking with a few interested businesses, Virk notified the board that he is currently postponing LOIs (letters of intent) until final plans are approved. Virk said that to date there is a dental office, salon suites, a nail salon, and a convenience store that are eager to lease spaces in the development but has not committed to any agreements.

Trustee John Piwko voiced his support for the project, adding that the development is a perfect opportunity to fill up the barren space in that area but also noted that the square tops on the front elevations presented in the most current rendition looked weird and reminded him of a car dealership.

“This is kind of out there. The only traffic that’s driven there is the traffic to get to the high school. You’re going to have to put in some spectacular restaurant or a nail salon that I’ll go get my pedicures at to drive traffic out there,” Trustee JR Westberg told Virk.

Westberg added that while he liked the current rendering of the development, he preferred the original design of the buildings presented to the board in the conceptual review that took place back in 2022.

Huntley Mayor Tim Hoeft agreed with Westberg about the conceptual renderings being the best in design and questioned Virk about the changes. Virk told the board that the most current rendering has “basically the same layout” as the conceptual plans with one of the only differences being overhangs that were added in front of the tenants in the middle of the development complex.

In addition, Virk stated that the conceptual renderings had wraparound windows towards the back of the buildings but due to privacy concerns expressed by potential tenants, he decided to move the wraparound windows to the front.

Following Virk’s response, Hoeft suggested to the petitioner that he come back to the next board meeting with new elevations to look like the concept design because it looked “a little classier.”

Despite the builder of the development committing to making the buildings look like the original concept design if the motion was approved that night, Hoeft still insisted on moving the process to another meeting so both the petitioner and the board get what they want in the final plans and so that the board can vote on the architectural aspects as submitted.

Subsequently, the board voted to table the decision until Aug. 8. The delay has created a sense of urgency for both the developer and the board. With the next meeting only a few weeks away, all parties are expected to work diligently to find a compromise that balances modern development with the village’s historical identity.