Huntley mulls approaches for downtown renewal

Huntley trustees will have to decide between two extremes and a middle way as they work to spruce up the village's historic downtown.

The village board got its first look at its options Thursday but decided to wait on discussing them until next week, when the village's redevelopment consultant will be on hand to answer questions.

Since the board last year hired Naperville-based Houseal Lavigne Associates to help draft a downtown revitalization plan, Houseal and village staff have hosted a series of meetings with Huntley residents, surveying them on what they'd like to see in the downtown.

Those meetings identified three possible approaches:

• A "preservation" plan that focuses on maintaining the current look of the downtown and infrastructure upgrades.

• A "redevelopment and expansion" plan that would seek to create a new image for the downtown by tearing down existing buildings, expanding the town square north to First Street and adding more housing in surrounding areas.

• A "hybrid" plan that seeks a happy medium between the two extremes. This approach would also expand the town square and rely on private-public partnerships to finance redevelopment.

Houseal will draft its recommendations and final report based on which option the board settles on. The report will include a vision of the downtown, a survey of transportation and potential funding sources.

Houseal has already submitted an interim document that includes a comprehensive survey of current conditions. To view the document, visit hlplanning.com/dnn/huntley.