The Huntley Village Board will review a proposal from a vacation rental company to create 52 apartments at the site of the former Catty property at Thursday’s board meeting.
True North Properties, a property management company from Traverse City, Michigan, that specializes in vacation and short-term rentals, is proposing to build new apartment buildings at the Catty site in addition to converting the existing building to into an apartment building as well.
The company submitted drawings for the village to review Thursday, but no formal votes on the proposal will be taken. The village has been in conversations with True North since September on an agreement for the company to purchase the property from the village.
Under True North’s proposal, the existing Catty building would be converted into 37 apartment units, made up of 17 studio apartments, 16 one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom units.
True North also proposed additional construction on the site: Five new buildings with three flats for rent in each one, according to village documents. The new buildings would have a modern design to complement the industrial look of the Catty building and warehouse on the property.
The 15 units in the new building would bring the total number of apartment units on the property to 52. True North had proposed 30 to 50 apartment units at the site in its pitch to the Huntley Village Board.
Earlier in November, the Village Board hosted a special meeting to discuss additional development, including parking, in Huntley’s downtown area. The village discussed extending the municipal parking into a gravel lot next to the Catty property, however, the village estimates $2.85 million would need to be spent to relocated power lines and water mains in the area.
True North also is leaving open the possibility of adding a train station on the property in the future, according to village documents.
The Illinois Department of Transportation has been keeping the door open to extending Metra service to Rockford, Belvidere and Huntley from the Milwaukee District West line, which currently runs between Union Station in Chicago and Elgin. Discussions also have swirled for several years about adding Amtrak service through Huntley.
Buying the Catty site would make Huntley True North’s first site in Illinois, according to its website. The company has several locations in Michigan and other states, but also has vacation rentals in Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Europe.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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