Huntley trustees praise new renderings for old Village Hall

The old Huntley Village Hall may soon be home to a restaurant and public bathrooms.

Wauconda-based True North Properties is looking to convert the two-story building at 11704 Coral St. to include a restaurant. The single-story portion of the building and a garage both would be torn down as part of the redevelopment, according to the renderings presented at a recent Village Board meeting.

As the property is owned by the village, the board would need to approve purchase and redevelopment agreements before any work could take place, Huntley Village Manager David Johnson said.

The old Village Hall is currently home to the Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce, which is looking at other locations within Huntley to move, Director of Development Charlie Nordman said.

This is the second time the Village Board gave feedback on the project. Back in April, the trustees generally disliked the color scheme and building height, but the praise this time was positive.

“I may have been the only one who loved that,” Trustee Mary Holzkopf said of the April plans at the recent meeting.

This time around, the proposed addition would be one story instead of two with a stone facade in the middle of the building and fiber cement siding on the back.

The addition would have been 35.5 feet at the tallest point under April’s renderings, but the new proposal has a height of 23.5 feet tall, according to village documents. The BBQ King Smokehouse building next door is 28.5 feet tall.

The decision to go to one story was based on trustee feedback but also cost and “space needs,” according to village documents.

“I didn’t necessarily care for that second story on the original one,” Trustee Ric Zydorowicz said.

The previous rendering also proposed three different color schemes – the original structure had brickwork, the middle a white fiber cement siding and the back a different brownish-red brickwork.

The new plans still include two different materials for the addition, but both are now white in color, the renderings show. The old Village Hall portion would retain the original brickwork.

The proposal also includes an outdoor patio space along the Church Street frontage that would wrap along the front of the building on Coral Street. The walkway between the building and neighboring BBQ King Smokehouse would be reduced to 6 feet from 12.

The back of the building also could be converted into a single retail space if the old Village Hall doesn’t become home to a restaurant, according to village documents.

“I think you build quality buildings,” Trustee Ronda Goldman said. “We need this on the Square.”

Trustee John Piwko, however, noted that awnings are not included over the entrances.

Village President Tim Hoeft said having an awning over the entrances would mean they wouldn’t have to place a sign on a brand-new building.

True North Properties has developed other projects in McHenry County, including the Catty building in Huntley and the former Immanuel Lutheran Church and School in Crystal Lake.

“I thank you for having confidence in Huntley,” Trustee JR Westberg said. “I hope we can do 10 more projects with you this coming year.”