Catty property, Coral Street Fire House projects on track to be finished in summer

Two key projects in Huntley that will bring nearly 50 total apartments to town are on time and slated to wrap up in the summer, officials said.

The projects, the Catty property and the Coral Street Fire House, are important pieces to Huntley’s downtown revitalization efforts and are already seeing interest from those looking to rent, officials said.

Huntley’s Village Board heard updates on both projects at its Thursday meeting, as both enter the final leg of construction. The timeline calls for each one to be done either before or by June, village officials said at the meeting.

Catty Property

The Catty property, located at 11117 S. Church St., will soon be known as The Cornell. It once stood as a vacant property that formerly housed the Cornell Brothers Milk Condensing Factory.

Since taking over the parcel, True North Properties has painted the building white and repaired much of the interior, Nicholas Ieremciuc with the project said at the meeting.

So far, 10 of the project’s apartments are “almost completely finished,” Ieremciuc said. The remainder are in what is called the “rough phase,” with framing, plumbing and mechanic work done.

It’s pretty impressive the job you guys have done to maintain not only the integrity of the building but the heritage of it.

—  Huntley Village President Tim Hoeft on progress of Catty property

With plans to finish the project in May, Ieremciuc said they could start showing the building to those interested by April and filling rooms by June. Nothing yet has been published online, however, as the site is still under construction.

“We are making good progress,” Ieremciuc said.

Both Village President Timothy Hoeft and Trustee Mary Holzkopf called what the company has done “impressive,” both in terms of the timeline and keeping the building’s historical integrity.

“It’s pretty impressive the job you guys have done to maintain not only the integrity of the building but the heritage of it,” Hoeft said.

Originally approved in April 2022, the property had been owned by the village for five years and earmarked as a potential project. The plan when first proposed in 2021 called for five new buildings, but those were withdrawn.

In addition to the building, the village has approved a few pieces of work surrounding the spot, including parking lot work for $2.3 million to create 137 parking stalls and road work around the area totaling nearly $1 million.

Coral Street Fire House

Despite a setback that saw it have to be torn down and rebuilt, the plan to convert a former fire station into a mixed-use building with apartments and a restaurant is on time, John Curtis and Joseph Billitteri with the project said.

The project calls for a four-story building, with the ground floor slated to be a D.C. Cobbs and the top three floors being apartments.

We’re working hard on meeting our dates. I’m very confident we will.

—  Developer Joseph Billitteri on Coral Street Fire House project

So far, six of the 18 apartments have been rented out, with the goal to lease it out completely by the time the project wraps in June, Billitteri said.

Drywall is now starting to go up in the building, with an elevator set to be installed in March, Curtis said. Tours also have begun.

“We’re working hard on meeting our dates,” Billitteri said. “I’m very confident we will. I’m never 100% confident because there’s so many things we don’t control.”

The plan was approved in March 2022 and came with requirements for Billitteri Enterprises LLC to invest at least $5 million into the spot. It also came with possible penalties for the developer if certain timelines weren’t met.

Originally, the shell of the building was due to be done by the end of 2022 but was delayed for up to five months in December. Despite this, the building in its entirety was still expected to be completed on time.

The Huntley Fire Protection District vacated the building in September 2020.