Lions Chase commercial development plans finally approved after design changes
HUNTLEY — After the July 25 Village Board meeting, petitioner and owner of Lot 205 of the Fitzgerald Subdivision, Inder Virk, was forced to go back to the drawing board to revise renderings for his plans to construct three multi-tenant commercial buildings on the southeast corner of Charles H. Sass Parkway and Main Street due to disagreements in the building designs between trustees and Virk.
The project, which was conceptually reviewed by the Village Board in 2022, initially faced some opposition from residents of the nearby Lions Chase Subdivision due to fears of traffic safety concerns and other issues stemming from the project’s proximity to Lions Chase homeowners.
While trustees didn’t necessarily hate the renderings presented to them at the July 25 meeting, they told Virk that they preferred the conceptual renderings shown to them back in 2022. With the board moving to table their approval of the final plans for the commercial complex until Aug. 8 so that trustees could vote on the architectural aspects as submitted, Virk and his team had to work diligently to find a compromise that fit both Virk’s and the board’s visions.
At the Aug. 8 Board meeting, Virk came back before trustees with new renderings that better matched the original building designs presented during the conceptual review. Seeing as all the information about the development remained the same as what was presented in the last Village Board meeting, trustees had nothing new to add to the discussion and were satisfied with the changes made to the renderings.
Trustee John Piwko made the motion to approve the final planned unit development (PUD) plans, including any necessary relief to accommodate the construction of the three speculative multi-tenant commercial buildings. With Trustee Ric Zydorowicz seconding the motion, the plan was approved unanimously by the board.
The approval marks the end of a long and often contentious process, but it also signals the beginning of a new chapter for the area.
