Huntley reviews plans for themed retail center

Huntley trustees on Thursday praised early plans for a sprawling Italian-themed "village" and retail center -- while noting concerns with the elaborate design and the impact the project would have on traffic.

The Village of Portofino, named after the Italian fishing village that inspired it, would place more than one million square feet of retail and 487 residential units on the west side of Route 47, north of Kreutzer Road.

The centerpiece of the project would be a central core of 419 high-end apartments and 68 townhouses laid out and designed to evoke the architecture and style of its Italian inspiration.

The mix of retail and residential, the strongly thematic design and the scope of the project all make for a development that would be unique in Huntley's history.

"It is a project of a scale and aesthetic features that we haven't seen before," Village Manager Carl Tomaso said.

The Portofino Group, the project's developer, hopes to start construction in the second half of 2009 and open the first phase of the project -- which includes most of the retail -- in 2011.

Huntley trustees applauded the rich design of the development at Thursday's village board meeting, where they reviewed preliminary plans for the project.

"This has such a different flavor and such a romance," Trustee Pam Fender said, adding that if the residential portion were built first, "It would make Huntley a destination first and foremost."

But the village board also noted practical concerns the project raised -- with Mayor Chuck Sass pressing Portofino representatives for a Plan B if the state doesn't approve two planned traffic lights.

"The traffic out there is terrible, and you're going to make it ten times worse," Sass said.

Portofino representatives agreed to work with the village to resolve the practical issues as the process moves forward.