Milk distributor hoping to buy former Dean Foods plant in Huntley

Country Delight Inc., which transports about
52 million pounds of milk a year and serves about 400 stores in the Chicago area, is looking to buy the former Dean Foods plant in Huntley.

Country Delight has been operating out of Dean Foods’ transportation facility on the north side of Mill Street and is hoping to use the plant for storage of its milk and dairy products.

Country Delight President Joe McMahon said he met with village staff a couple of months ago about buying the building, which halted production in September, with the hope of expanding distribution lines and bringing back jobs to the community. McMahon said he also has staff working in Oak Brook and Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“This will be the flagship headquarters for Country Delight, and we would like to convey an image of growth and success,” McMahon said in a letter to Huntley Development Services Director Charles Nordman.

After closing on the property at 11713 Mill St., McMahon said a number of upgrades will be completed, including painting the building’s exterior, renovating the office areas, replacing broken dock doors, improving the parking lot and landscaping. He said the work would take about six weeks, pending board approval.

Country Delight expects about 75 to 105 employees in Huntley. The shuttering of the Dean Foods building caused 131 people to lose their jobs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter sent by the company.

On Jan. 28, a significant portion of the roof of Dean Foods’ maintenance building on the south side of the plant along Dean Street collapsed. Dean Foods secured the area around the building and is consulting with a structural engineer to see whether repairs or demolition will be required, according to village documents.

Should the building require demolition, a plan will need to be presented to the village for site restoration.

The Village Board will hear a conceptual review from Country Delight on Thursday regarding a special use permit granting outside storage for semitractor-trailers and semitrailers.

A Country Delight representative informed the village that truck traffic would be about one-third of what the traffic was when Dean Foods was in operation.

The board will meet at
7 p.m. at the Huntley Municipal Complex, 10987 Main St.