Fifteen years ago, Route 47 and Mill Street in Huntley was the community’s little league baseball headquarters. Kids played games there, but most of the time the site was quiet.
Now, Huntley is expanding and changing everywhere, and the long-vacant 17-acre site near the village’s town square may get in on the action.
Mike Skala, Huntley businessman and a member of the McHenry County Board, is proposing a sizable commercial and residential complex that started out as an expansion of his popular Goodfella’s Beef restaurant on Route 47. If approved by village officials, the proposal will replace the former array of baseball diamonds with a 19-building complex of residences, offices, and stores.
Skala is a long-time local business owner, but this is his first venture as a developer of a large multi-use project. He isn’t thinking small in this Mill Street venture.
He is recommending the construction of three apartment buildings, four 16-unit townhouses, eight single-family homes, and four commercial office buildings that would offer 76,000-square feet of usable space. Including a new modernized version of his Goodfellas eatery, of course.
The plan came before the Huntley Plan Commission on May, where it was met with a mix of support, skepticism, and opposition from a large group of residents. Another commission meeting is scheduled for June 11, but Skala told the Sun Day last week that it may be postponed so that additional information can be collected and submitted to village officials.
“We have some new information from a traffic study by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT),” Skala said.
Two residents at the May 15 meeting expressed concern about the size of the project, its possible effects on groundwater, whether it is a good location for this type of expansion, and the potential impact of additional traffic. The site is bordered on the east by Route 47, on the north by two houses facing Main Street, on the west by Lincoln Street, and on the south by Mill Street, which leads into the nearby Deicke Park recreational complex.
“I met with the village after I bought the property and we looked at the village’s comprehensive plan,” Skala said. “This plan fits exactly with the village’s plan. I have spoken with residents and tried to respond to their input, but I believe the project coordinates completely with the comprehensive plan. I have lived in the village since 1989, I have seen it grow in recent years, and my goal here is to continue that.”
“According to the village’s zoning code, about 150-200 people can live on this site under current zoning,” Skala said. “We are proposing to add about 50% to that number in this plan. We aren’t adding anything that isn’t in the village’s comprehensive plan.
On May 15, Skala said he tentatively intends to build the development in eight phases, but no time table has been set yet that he must follow. Phase one would include one 36-unit apartment building and its parking and storm water management facilities, and the second may include two commercial buildings and parking.
“But all of this may change,” Skala said. “I’m not going to build on speculation.”
At one point earlier this year, Skala and the Huntley Fire Protection District discussed the possibility of including a new fire station at this site, but that idea was abandoned in favor of other options.
Skala’s plan must be approved by both the plan commission and the village board. It is likely that several more meetings at both levels in the village’s review process will be held before a final decision is made.
