Huntley mayor Charlie Sass is finally getting his wish.
Nearly three years ago, Sass told the Sun Day, “I wish the Huntley Outlet Center would go away.”
He expressed this at a time when two Sun City shoppers fell at the center, one filed a lawsuit, and former owners were not investing anything significant in maintenance and marketing.
As of late March, there was only one factory store – Banana Republic – still operating in the center that once accommodated more than 70 tenants. The center’s two huge parking lots contained only three vehicles. Many customized signs were taken down when the stores left. The center now resembles a miniature ghost town.
One thing seems certain, according to sources close to the center’s owners and the village: the new facilities will not be retail. The new owners are talking about industrial, or office, or research facilities.
Banana Republic was still open last week, only because company management had not decided, as of March 23, what to do with the store’s merchandise and personnel, according to an employee. Corporate politics, customer falls and lawsuits, online shopping, and a misplaced hope in the I-90 tollway interchange have combined to make the center a part of Huntley history.
Details of what’s coming are expected to be announced by either the owners, or the village, or both, soon. But some future information has emerged in recent weeks.
First, General RV has purchased eight of the westernmost acres, including the building formerly occupied by Sweet Repeats resale store, which has moved back to its former quarters on Route 47 next to Papa G’s restaurant. General would like to raze the building and expand its RV service and parking facilities. The village has yet to approve this move.
Second, some general information about the rest of the center’s property emerged last week in a conversation with Richard Turasky, president of Capital Realty Development of Elgin, one of the center’s new owners.
“We plan very soon to submit a request to the village to rezone the center property from retail to ORI, or office-research-industrial,” Turasky said. “We have sold off eight acres and one building to General RV, but we don’t yet have any other specific development options. We don’t know yet if we will sell the remaining 70 acres to one enterprise, or several.”
Turasky and village officials have reportedly talked recently, but no specific plans or requests have been submitted to the village.
A rezoning request to the village has to go through an extensive vetting process with the plan commission and village board.
“That’s a process that usually takes several months and includes public hearings,” said Lisa Armour, assistant village manager.
A number of Sun Day readers have said that they would like to see a hotel in this location. However, in another report recently published in the Sun Day, the village identified six possible sites for a hotel as part of a land development marketing promotion being communicated to hotel developers. These sites all are located next to or on highways 47 or I-90, not on the outlet center site.
“If one developer needs 70 acres, that may work, but more likely this site will be redeveloped by several enterprises,” Turasky said.
