New life for Huntley Square? Carpentersville, Otto Engineering conducting initial studies

The Huntley Square Shopping Center sits prominently at one of Carpentersville's busiest intersections, serving as a gateway into a town that has worked hard to rebrand itself as a thriving, business-centric community.

The vacant, rundown building at Route 31 and Huntley Road is far from living up to that image, village leaders said, but they see its potential.

So does local investor and businessman Tom Roeser, whose recent partnership with the village could propel the revitalization of the property.

"Huntley Square is an important part of the entry into Carpentersville," Roeser said. "We all want something done there, and I think I can be a catalyst."

The first step in redeveloping the site is determining its viability, best possible uses and potential costs, all of which will be identified through a series of studies completed in the next few months, said Roeser, president of Carpentersville's largest employer, Otto Engineering.

To help fund those initial reports, the village board recently approved a memorandum of understanding to reimburse Roeser for up to $91,200 using tax increment financing dollars - property tax money held for redevelopment in a district rather than for local governments. That information would be placed on file with the village and could be shared with other potential developers should Otto decide not to pursue the project, Community Development Director Ben Mason said.

Securing a high-density project for the 3-acre site has been a top priority for Village Manager Eric Johnson since he was hired last spring. Currently held by out-of-state ownership, the shopping center has been empty for more than two years and has fallen into disrepair, he said.

"It has become an eyesore over the last several years," Johnson said. "It's something we feel is a prime location for redevelopment and a site that could much better serve the community than the dilapidated state it's currently in."

Though a market study will help determine the most appropriate uses, Roeser said he preliminarily believes the property would be best suited for a moderate to high-end residential development that is dog-friendly and geared toward "up-and-coming professionals." Village officials have expressed a desire to add retail into the mix, too.

Several other questions remain over the condition of the building, its foundation and a roughly 100-spot underground parking garage, all of which will dictate whether the structure should be upgraded and repurposed or demolished and rebuilt. The reports are expected to be completed by August, at which point the village and Otto will reassess the site, Mason said.

Known throughout the area as a catalyst for redevelopment, Roeser has poured millions of dollars into revitalizing parts of Carpentersville and East and West Dundee the past few decades. His involvement gives the Huntley Square project a much-needed push, Johnson said, even amid the "questionable and uncertain economic times" of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We're hoping to really get that corner back in shape here in the near future ... and jump-start more redevelopment in that corridor," he said.