Zoning requests granted for senior care facility near Sun City

HUNTLEY – A major slice of Huntley’s renewed growth is the development of new medical facilities concentrated near Sun City.

The development of a medical hub is not new, however.

First, there was the Provena facility on Regency Parkway, then another medical office facility on Farm Hill Road nearby. Then along came Heritage assisted living, then the nearby Deerpath Supportive Living rehab center set to open this summer. Last year, Centegra’s plan to build a 128-bed hospital on Algonquin Road was approved.

Now comes Alden Network’s proposed 14-acre medical/residential/rehab campus at Princeton Drive and Regency Parkway, the largest senior-related project in the village since Sun City itself in 1998.

On June 10, the village’s Plan Commission moved this 14-acre senior nursing care/rehab/independent living campus forward significantly by approving several zoning and land use requests and granting the project relief from several Regency Square development guidelines.

The commission is an advisory body to the village board. It is recommending approval of Alden’s preliminary plat of subdivision, to rezone one lot from C-2 Regional Retail to BP Business Park, and for special use permits for the independent living and nursing home buildings, and the developer’s site plan.

The approvals are conditional on final approval by the village board. Trustees will discuss the plan commission’s positive recommendations at a committee of the whole meeting this week (Thursday, June 20) at 7 p.m. Final action by the board is tentatively planned on Thursday, June 27, at the board’s next regular meeting at 7 p.m.

After a presentation by two Alden officials at a public hearing on June 10, the plan commission asked numerous questions about the project, made a few suggestions for modest changes, and then voted unanimously to recommend approval of the project to village trustees.

“Your plan is very nice, your buildings are beautiful, and this project looks very promising,” Tom Kibort, commission chairman, said.

Alden is a longtime developer of rehab, assisted living, and senior independent living facilities throughout the Midwest. It is 40 years old and owns and operates 44 facilities in northern Illinois and Wisconsin, including a rehab location in Barrington.

Alden’s Huntley plan is called “Huntley Horizon.” It would occupy more than 14 acres at the northwest corner of Princeton Drive and Regency Parkway. The site is immediately east of the pond that is next to one of Huntley’s fire stations. Nearby are Heritage Assisted Living and the 128-bed Deerpath rehab facility. The Deerpath building will house rehabilitation facilities for trauma victims and wounded military personnel aged 22 to 64 years.

Alden’s project includes six buildings – a 3-story independent living building to contain 91 rental units for seniors, a 60-bed memory care facility, and 100 beds in nursing and rehab facilities. The project is proposed to include more than 204,000 square feet and is expected to have 75 employees.

An extensive landscaping plan would include pergolas, gazebos, benches, and aquatic features. The main entrance would be off Regency Parkway, flanked by monument-style signage similar to the Sun City entrance on Route 47 and Del Webb Boulevard. A couple of plan commissioners expressed pleasant surprise at the rental rates for the independent living apartments, which Alden officials said would range from $320 to $800 per month, depending on their size.

If the village board grants approval on June 27, however, that isn’t the end of the approval process required for this project. It also needs the approval of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, plus procurement of financing for the multi-million-dollar project. Alden officials said the earliest they could start construction, assuming all approvals are received, is late summer of 2014.

“It could even extend to the spring of 2015,” one Alden representative said.

The Review Board is the same body that spent many months considering, and finally approving, Centegra’s proposal for its hospital in 2012.

Plan commissioners, especially Dawn Ellison, asked questions about screening of trash containers, landscaping, architectural features of the buildings, and parking. They put two conditions on their approval recommendation – more screening at trash areas and additional architectural features at the corners of some buildings.

The commission recommended approval of Alden requests for relief from parking requirements (245 spaces instead of the required 261) and building height (three stories in some buildings instead of the required limit of two). The commission also recommended that the site plan remain valid for two years instead of the normal one, in case Alden’s dealings with the Illinois Health Review Board take longer than anticipated.

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