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December 26, 2022

Trustees approved of an extension to complete the building shell of the former Fire Station One property until May 30, 2023.
Photo provided.
Trustees approved of an extension to complete the building shell of the former Fire Station One property until May 30, 2023.

Features • December 26, 2022

Trustees approve extension for the completion of the building shell for the Coral Street Firehouse project

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HUNTLEY — As residents may recall, back in March, the village Board of Trustees approved the execution of a Redevelopment Agreement (RDA) between Huntley and developer Coral Street Firehouse, LLC for the redevelopment of the former Fire Station One site located at 11808 Coral Street.

Within the agreement, Coral Street Firehouse was required to complete the exterior shell of the building by Dec. 31, or else they would be fined associated liquidated damages of $100 per day until the shell is completed.

Managing Member of Coral Street Firehouse, LLC, Joseph Billitteri, sent Huntley Village Manager Dave Johnson a letter explaining that as a result of design issues they encountered at the beginning of the project, the developer was now requesting that the board extend their building shell completion date to March 31, 2023, with the $100 liquidated damages waived until after that date.

Despite Billitteri’s letter requesting an extension date of March of next year, representatives for the developer in attendance at the Dec. 1 Village Board meeting told trustees that due to inclement weather conditions, the developer would realistically need to wait until at least April 1 of next year to start the masonry work. However, the petitioners did assure the board that the extension of the exterior shell would not impact the interior construction of the building.

Representatives for the developer added that they are dedicated to maintaining the final certificates of occupancy date of June 30, 2023, per the RDA.

Trustee Ronda Goldman was sympathetic to the developers, stating that she did not have a problem with approving an extension and waiving the fines.

“It’s the reality of life and you’ve built good buildings. We’ve done this before, encountered this with many other companies that have asked for delays and so, I’m fine with it,” said Goldman. “This is a big project for us. This is a big plus and I don’t want to be punitive.”

Trustee Mary Holzkopf expressed that she felt shocked at the petitioners’ request due to being a “stickler with dates,” though she was understanding that unexpected events do happen.

“One thing I will say though is that if the completion is not done by June 30, I would not extend that. So, I can have grace and extend the shell [date],” she said.

Trustee Curt Kittle asked if the petitioners could put up some screening to insulate the workers from the cold weather. The developers responded that that would cost them anywhere between $80,000 to $100,000 to do, which is not feasible with their financial position.

Following the board’s discussion, Trustee JR Westberg made a motion to approve the developer’s request for an extension until May 30, 2023, with no fines unless that date is not met, which then will be met with fines that will be backlogged from Jan. 1.

Westberg’s motion died as no other trustee seconded it for it to move forward.

Holzkopf then made a new motion, again, approving an extension until May 30 with no fines, but instead of that Jan. 1 date, to backlog fines to March 31 if the petitioners cannot complete the building shell by their new deadline.

“I do feel that there needs to be some sort of fine for the fact that there are also village dollars invested into this project. So, I think that that is fair,” Holzkopf told the developers.

Westberg proceeded to second Holzkopf’s motion, which was then moved on for it to be voted on by the trustees. All but Goldman voted in favor of Holzkopf’s motion.

According to the village, upon resolving issues with their team of engineers, the developers have been working diligently on the building and are nearing completion of the fourth-story exterior framing.

“I mean the building is watertight or will be after we get the roof on it, and so, the interior construction of the building and the restaurant would continue and we are not requesting any extension on the finalization of the building by June 30 for the certificate,” the petitioners told trustees at the Dec. 1 Village Board meeting.