Catty property developer seeks to purchase former village hall building to redevelop it into a restaurant use

HUNTLEY — True North Properties, Inc., the developer of the former Catty property—now renamed to The Cornell (11117 S Church Street), came before the Village Board on Jan. 12, expressing interest in purchasing the former Huntley Village Hall building located at 11704 Coral Street.

True North has plans to convert the building from office space into a restaurant use, according to Village Manager Dave Johnson.

Johnson told the board that the village intends to sell the former village hall building to a private developer. The sale would then be subject to a redevelopment agreement that would provide for the conversion and expansion of the existing office building to better accommodate the building for restaurant use.

The Jan. 12 Village Board meeting agenda packet, states that a developer has already expressed interest in acquiring the property and repurposing it for restaurant use, subject to TIF assistance.

However, before further plans are to be presented to the board, Johnson explained that trustees would first need to approve a resolution authorizing the village to begin negotiations with True North Properties for the redevelopment of the former village hall building.

Mayor Tim Hoeft asked the board if they had any questions for Johnson or the developer. Trustee JR Westberg asked if there would be any ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accommodations added to the building.

Johnson responded with “yes,” while also expressing that plans for the building are still in the very early stages of discussion. He added that the village and the developer have just recently started talks on some of the architectural elements of the building.

With no further comments or questions from the board, a motion was made to approve the resolution to continue discussions with the developer for the redevelopment of the former village hall building. The motion passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was for the board to approve a resolution regarding the potential disposition of property within the Huntley Downtown TIF District and invite submissions of alternative bids and proposals for the former village hall property.

“Consistent with the Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act, the village is required to [notify] other interested parties, if any, of the opportunity to submit alternate proposals or bids for the purchase and redevelopment of the former village hall property at 11704 Coral Street,” explained Johnson.

Again, the board had no questions or comments regarding this agenda item and moved to pass the resolution. The motion once again passed unanimously.

The deadline for submission of alternate proposals from other developers is Jan. 27.