300 acres in Huntley to become Kane County forest preserve – but some land set aside for development

Hundreds of acres of open land in Huntley could soon become a Kane County forest preserve, though the village has asked that some of the property be set aside for future development.

The potential new forest preserve, southwest of where Route 47 meets Interstate 90, would consist of a shelter and trail looping around the property, in addition to parking, Kane County Forest Preserve District Executive Director Ben Haberthur said.

Originally, district officials were looking at acquiring approximately 350 acres for the preserve. However, Huntley officials had concerns about a potential sale of a portion of the property that fronts Route 47, indicating they thought development was a better use for the nearly 45 acre piece of land.

Huntley documents indicate the land is currently zoned for office, manufacturing and commercial uses. Property tax records indicate it’s classified as farmland.

“It’s the most developable parcel,” Haberthur said of the property in question, which ultimately the district agreed would not be included in the forest preserve acquisition.

Huntley needed to give a concurrence to the acquisition, which they did May 23. Haberthur said the Kane County Forest Preserve had to get a formal OK from Huntley because the property is not contiguous with other Kane County Forest Preserve land and is within Huntley’s municipal boundaries. The forest preserve district runs the Rutland Forest Preserve that’s not far from the I-90/Route 47 interchange.

Huntley’s concurrence came with a set of conditions, among them an objection to the Forest Preserve District acquiring the approximately 45-acre southern parcel with the Route 47 frontage. Huntley documents indicate a potential buyer is interested in that parcel for potential future development, while the forest preserve would get ownership of the nearly 300 acres that makes up the rest of the property.

The conditions state the forest preserve district can acquire an access easement on the property, which Haberthur said will provide vehicle access.

Haberthur said the seller of the property first reached out to the district in January 2023 about a possible sale.

“They liked the idea of conservation,” he said.

Property tax records list the owner as Northern Trust Company. A message left for the company was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Haberthur said originally the forest preserve district initially said no to the potential acquisition. But he said he’s personally visited the site and “you can tell the value” of natural resources on it.

He said there is a lot of waterfowl at the potential forest preserve and expects birding would be a popular activity. He added there’s a few 125-year-old oak trees and several acres that have never been plowed for agricultural use. The forest preserve hopes to start restoring prairie once the district closes on the property.

Kane County Forest Preserve District officials voted in October to sign off on the purchase, which according to district documents, came with a $4.95 million price tag.

“This purchase represents the largest purchase within the 2017 referendum,” Kane County documents state. That year, Kane County voters approved a $50 million referendum for the forest preserve district. Officials at the time said the vast majority of the funds were to go to land acquisition.

Haberthur said that after the purchase has closed, which he hopes will be this month or in July, the forest preserve wants to have the new space up and running “pretty quick.”

“It worked out pretty well,” Haberthur said.