Huntley to study whether market could support hotel
Huntley village officials are seeking requests for proposals to conduct a hotel market and economic feasibility study.
The village board recently approved spending up to $15,000 on the study. There are several properties along the Route 47 corridor, south of Kreutzer Road down to the Interstate 90 tollway adjacent to other commercial developments, where a hotel could be built.
Officials have been taking about the need for a hotel in town for several years and it has been a priority of the village's strategic and economic development plans. Conducting a study would help court interested developers, Assistant Village Manager Lisa Armour said.
"We hear from our residents, particularly folks out in Sun City, that they have family that come to visit and would like to stay nearby," Armour said. "One of the first steps in that process is (studying) market demand and feasibility."
Del Webb's Sun City is the largest 55 and older active adult living community in the Midwest. The 2,300-acre community off Route 47 is home to about 9,500 residents.
In the past, a few developers have talked about possibly building a hotel in town but the idea never got very far. Officials plan to share study results with interested developers and use it to further marketing efforts, Armour said.
Proposals from consultants are due by March 16.
Armour said there is a lot of ongoing residential and commercial activity along Route 47.
Lincoln, Nebraska-based Resort Lifestyle Communities' Huntley Springs project involving 130 luxury senior apartments is under construction - a $21.5 million project adding 40 jobs - to roughly 9.6 acres along Powers Road east of Route 47.
Alden Realty Services' Huntley Horizons and the Villas senior living communities, north of Sun City, are now open - a combined $12 million project adding 79 independent living units for people 62 and older. Alden's $9.5 million, 60-unit memory care building and $7 million skilled nursing facility serving 110 patients are under construction and expected to open this spring. More than 200 jobs will be added.
On the commercial side, construction of a Panera Bread on a roughly 1.9-acre site at the southeast corner of Route 47 and Kreutzer Road is expected to begin soon. The $800,000 multi-tenant building with a drive-through will add more than 50 new jobs. Panda Express is building a $500,000 2,200-square-foot restaurant with drive-through within Huntley Crossings Phase II, east of Route 47 and north of Regency Parkway.
"We think there's a lot of good things happening here and a lot of investment taking place in the community," Armour said.