One of Broadway’s most popular musicals features a tune called “June is busting out all over.”
This song could also provide an accurate description of the current economic development boom in the Village of Huntley: “Building, and planning to build, is bustin’ out all over.”
The Sun Day has been reporting about Huntley’s spectacular economic growth for the past decade. But there seems to be no end to it. The village’s economic boom roars on.
Huntley expects to see continued growth and renovations this spring, includ- ing the beautification updates to the town square currently under way. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
Here are a series of sound bites on what’s happening now and what’s coming up soon (listed according to the size and scope of the projects): In August, Centegra Healthcare will open its 118-bed hospital at Haligus and Reed Roads after four years of planning, obtaining approvals, and construction. A medical office building will be completed later on the campus, which also includes a fitness center and an immediate care facility. Centegra also operates a Wellness Center in Sun City’s Prairie Lodge, for the exclusive use of the community’s residents. On June 16, Centegra will hold an open house at the hospital for Sun City residents. Shuttle buses will be provided all that day and tours of the state-of-the-art facility’s departments and question-and-answer sessions will be offered. More information on Centegra will be published in the Sun Day soon.
Also in August, Alden Realty Services will break ground on its 14-acre, six-building senior nursing and independent living complex at Regency Square Road and Princeton Drive, on Sun City’s doorstep. The $32 million project will include a 110-bed nursing and rehabilitation facility, a 60-bed memory care building, and a 912-unit independent senior living complex of apartments and villas. Completion is scheduled for late 2017.
Under construction in the village’s corporate center along I-90 is a 117,000-square-foot facility by Hiwin Technologies Corp., a Taiwan-based global industrial technology manufacturing firm that is moving a regional office from Elgin to Huntley. The firm has subsidiaries and research and development centers in seven nations, including several in the U.S. The firm manufactures ballscrews, robots, motors, and motion control devices that are applied to environmental protection and occupational health and safety systems in a variety of enterprises.
On April 21, the Sun Day reported that Elgin-based Capital Realty and Development Co. Has purchased the Huntley Outlet Center and has announced plans to renovate and revitalize the facility. More details will be published on this project soon.
On April 21, the Huntley Village Board gave preliminary approval to a special use permit for Henderson IDC, an Iowa-based heavy truck manufacturing and distribution firm. The company is relocating a vehicle service and distribution center from Gilberts to Huntley, at 11921 Smith Drive, about 1/2 mile south of Kreutzer Road, east of Route 47. Henderson plans to retain and modify existing facilities, which were formerly used by GFS Construction.
At the Town Square, which will be sporting a totally new look by summer, the village says it will complete re-landscaping of the square surrounding the gazebo by the end of May. The Huntley Veterans Foundation says it will complete construction of its $125,000 veterans memorial wall at the east end of the square, in June.
This year, engineering design of a multi-use bike-pedestrian path on the east side of Route 47 from the north side of Kreutzer Road to the south side of Oak Creek Parkway, near the Del Webb Boulevard entrance to Sun City. The path will extend along Oak Creek and Del Webb Boulevard when it is actually built in 2017.
Outlots, next to Walmart, also continue to be busy with business growth activity. Dental Care of Huntley will open its new facility immediately north of McDonald’s later this spring, and a Burger King Restaurant will start rising on the south side of McDonald’s soon.
Randall Road Animal Hospital has received village approval for its new facility at 11804 Route 47, at the southeast corner of 47 and Dean Street. Construction and opening plans have not been announced.
Denny’s opened April 19 in the old Culver’s wing at Drendel’s Corner at Oak Creek and Route 47. On the third day, when this writer stopped in for a bite, the place was full and a crowd waited outside for a table.
The village continues its shared expense facade program with local vendors in the town square area. Sal’s Pizza (formerly Luigi’s) has a new front, and Village Inn owners and village officials are negotiating regarding a new facade at the restaurant on Main Street.
Last but certainly not least, a new commercial project may be created at the northwest corner of Route 47 and James Dhamer Drive. A conceptual design and request for relocation of Eakin Creek, which runs diagonally through this property, was discussed with the property owner at a village board committee of the whole meeting on April 21. No decisions of any kind have been made regarding this idea yet, and no developer has been identified.
Relocation of the river will require review and approval by nine federal, state, and regional agencies, in addition to the village’s planning commission and governing board. Even if approved, a project at this site is a long way off. The location is immediately south of the berm at the south end of Neighborhood 32 in Sun City.
