Huntley leaders like rental housing development, but not proposed location

Huntley officials like the idea of a new housing development in town. But they didn’t like its proposed location.

The Village Board on Thursday reviewed but did not vote on plans for a proposed townhouse development along the Route 47 corridor.

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The development would have been about 24 acres located off Route 47 behind retail enterprises near Regency Parkway and Powers Road. It would have consisted of 92 single-story, attached rental homes and 45 two-story rental townhomes.

The property is zoned for a shopping district and is identified in the Huntley comprehensive plan as being for retail and commercial uses. The board indicated they wanted to keep the site for retail.

The developer, Heyday, has a development strategy of providing “missing middle housing,” Ryan Swingruber of Heyday said.

The developer is proposing an extension of Regency Parkway that could link to another proposed subdivision behind Walmart.

The units are 1,500 to 1,600 square feet, Swingruber said, and the company doesn’t offer one-bedroom rentals. One-bedroom units tend to be more transient renters, Swingruber said.

The communities also emphasize green space, open space and walkability, he said.

In response to a question from Trustee Ronda Goldman, Swingruber said the rental range would be between $2,400 and $3,000 a month.

Swingruber said the company looked at an analysis of affordability of homeownership and ran the numbers to see if there’s a gap between the rental rate and homeownership. The townhomes are 15% to 16% less expensive than buying a home at the median price in Huntley.

Trustee Ric Zydorowicz said he appreciates the homework the developers did. He said it was a “good product” and there was a need for it, but was not in favor of the proposed spot.

Trustee John Piwko, who is challenging Village President Tim Hoeft for reelection, said he agreed with other trustees that “we probably need something like this, but not there.”

Two housing developments have been approved in recent months along the Route 47 corridor near the proposed Heyday site. The Village Board approved a 300-apartment complex and a 41-house development last year. It recently reviewed plans for the development behind the Walmart.

Swingruber said his company tried to buy the site behind Walmart but was unsuccessful. He said the company appreciated the feedback.

Of the Heyday proposal, Hoeft said: “I think there’s a spot,” later adding it was not a no, just not on that site. He encouraged the developers to stay in touch with Huntley and see if they can try to figure something out.