More housing, Cafe Roma, splash pad and more on horizon for Huntley
Huntley leaders touted 2024 developments — including a gas station on the north side of town and new subdivisions coming to the south side of town — during a State of Huntley presentation Tuesday.
In 2025, incubator shops at the Hackett House are schedule to open, and Cafe Roma is expected to be up and running by the year end.
The Italian eatery will be inside Old Village Hall on the Huntley square; the building formerly was home to the Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce.
Village President Tim Hoeft, who is running against Trustee John Piwko for another term, spoke about being a third-generation Grafton Township resident and watching the growth in Huntley, but he noted it can be a double-edged sword.
“You can’t stop growth, you can only control it and roll with it,” he said, adding any growth has to have a community benefit. Hoeft said he thinks Huntley has done that the past four years.
Trustee Ronda Goldman, who will be leaving the village board in May, and Piwko also were in attendance.
Huntley officials touted investments in the downtown parking area, including that they’ve poured $5 million into it and have almost 650 spaces.
Village Manager Dave Johnson said building a parking garage is not feasible as the cost per spot can run up to $50,000, compared with $9,000 to $10,000 with surface parking.
More parking could be coming to downtown. The village board on Thursday will discuss whether to purchase about a quarter-acre lot across the street from D.C. Cobb’s.
Parking came up last year during discussions about the proposed Metra stop in Huntley. McHenry County threw its support behind stops in Huntley and Marengo; the line out to Rockford passes through both downtowns. The county also supported having state funding pay for the stations.
Kreutzer Road is set to be realigned and widened between Route 47 and Haligus Road. The project has an estimated price tag of $14.6 million. Financially, it’s the largest public improvement project Huntley has undertaken. Huntley secured more than $10.5 million in grants for the project, officials said.
Huntley also was able to negotiate with Kane County officials to keep some land along the Route 47 corridor open for development when the forest preserve bought land southwest of the Interstate 90 interchange last year.
Johnson said the next “frontier” of development in Huntley is Route 47 south of I-90 down to Big Timber Road.
Huntley voters approved an $18 million bond issue for the park district last fall. Park district Executive Director Scott Crowe said the district is larger than Crystal Lake’s and now is the largest in the county.
The growth in Huntley combined with the district outperforming on a recent bond rating means taxpayers will feel less of an effect, officials said.
By the end of bond payments, taxpayers’ annual hit should be down to $45, Crowe said.
Some of the projects enabled by the program include a Topgolf-style entertainment center at Pinecrest golf course and a splash pad at Stingray Bay.
Huntley Area Public Library Director Frank Nowak said the library’s 2019 referendum cost the average homeowner $57 at first, but the amount is in the low $40-range now.
He said with all the growth in Huntley, maybe the library should have gone for more in the referendum, which enabled it to more than double its space and add amenities such as more meeting rooms and a maker space.