Huntley looking to add 300-plus homes in new development

Huntley could soon add more than 100 single-family homes and more than 200 townhomes to its housing stock.

A roughly 76-acre proposed development, currently known as Stetson Park, would go in behind the Walmart off Route 47 and south of Kreutzer Road and back up to the Huntley Springs Retirement Resort.

The development would include 110 single-family homes and 214 townhomes if current plans are approved. There would be a park inside the development, as well.

Original plans for the site called for 430 townhomes, according to village records.

Developer M/I Homes also built the Fieldstone subdivision in Huntley near Village Hall. That development will have 173 single-family homes once it’s complete.

Current plans for Stetson Park indicate four models of single-family homes ranging in size from just less than 1,850 square feet to just less than 2,500 square feet.

The single-family homes have a 6-foot minimum setback on the sides, which was a concern of some of the Village Board.

The four proposed townhome models range in size from just more than 1,400 square feet to just more than 1,575 square feet. Some will have garages in back and some will have garages in front.

All the products are slated to be two stories tall but won’t have basements. Price points haven’t been set, but M/I Homes intends for the properties to be more attainable for current and future homebuyers, according to village records.

Representatives for the developer said in response to a question from Huntley officials that basements are expensive and can add $30,000-$40,000 to the cost.

The Village Board reviewed plans for the development Thursday evening but did not vote on them. Board members’ opinions were varied about the development in its current form, but generally the board wanted to see the subdivision move forward.

Trustee Vito Benigno said he liked the mixture of products and the pricing.

“This development really offers the opportunity for folks to move to Huntley or to move within Huntley,” Benigno said, adding “everything about it really reflects the market moving forward, I think.”

Trustee Harry Leopold said he didn’t like a lot of the models having a predominantly dark color scheme and had issues with the proposed 6-foot setbacks. He also said he didn’t care for the lack of eaves.

“I don’t like six, period,” Leopold said.

Trustee Ric Zydorowicz said he liked it “a lot.”

Zydorowicz asked how tied the developers were to the name, saying a lot of the development names in town are Huntley-related.

“I’m not saying it’s horrible, it’s different,” Zydorowicz said.

Representatives for the developers said their emails were open to any recommendations.

Village President Tim Hoeft said the density of the proposed development is less than where it started and properties are for sale, not for rent.

“This has been something that this village has been lacking and needing for pretty much my entire life of 45 years,” Hoeft said.

The proposed development would be in the vicinity of a 41-unit single-family subdivision the village approved late last year and an almost 300-unit apartment complex that the Village Board approved last summer.

Stetson Park will need to come back for approvals from the Village Board and Plan Commission.

Although the Village Board wanted the developers to make some tweaks to their plans, members wanted to see the development happen.

“It’s going to work, and it’s needed,” Zydorowicz said.