Apartment conversions for McHenry’s Landmark School and old bank building?

McHenry is set to hear pitches Monday for two iconic downtown buildings’ potential redevelopment.

If either concept plan – for Landmark School and the old First Midwest Bank building – moves forward, it could bring nearly 70 rental units to downtown.

Chicago-based developers EM8 Properties are calling their proposal for the former bank at 3510 W. Elm St. The Vault @ McHenry. Partners Etamar Deshe and Michael Gallant are proposing a $10 million project that would bring 37 loft-style apartments to the two-story building.

“They look beautiful,” McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett said of the proposal. “I think it will be a great opportunity for that building and getting it occupied. It has been sitting empty for way too long.”

The McHenry City Council has had pitches for redeveloping the downtown bank before, including as recently as November. In 2021, a plan to build a 7-Eleven on the site was shelved by developers.

This group has a track record for redeveloping properties, Jett said. According to the proposal documents, the company has done similar redevelopment work in Oak Forest.

Another area developer with a track record of repurposing old buildings into housing in McHenry County is pitching a proposal for Landmark School.

Wauconda-based True North Properties Inc. wants to see if the Council is interested in apartments in the building before submitting a bid for the recently shuttered, 131-year-old school.

The McHenry School District 15 Board voted last year to close the Landmark, then put the school at 3614 W. Waukegan Road up for sale via bid in February.

The first-round bids were rejected, with district officials saying they would not accept bids that included contingency clauses – like getting the building’s zoning changed – that would invalidate a sale.

In June, the District 15 board again approved a request for bids, but this time including the no-contingency clause in its bid offer, which are due by July 25.

True North’s track record in McHenry County includes the redevelopment of the Cornell Apartments and the former Village Hall in Huntley, Cary’s Schoolhouse Apartments and the Church Street Apartments in Crystal Lake.

The company is suggesting up to 35 apartments in the downtown school, which is currently zoned for office use. “A change to residential zoning would be required for True North to move forward with their concept,” according to city staff’s report to the council.

Jett said he met with District 15 officials and suggested bidders talk to the city about their ideas for the property. The Council can provide a straw poll – not an official vote – on whether they like the idea as presented now.

What McHenry does not want is to take over the building and its development, the mayor said.

“We have enough property,” Jett said. “We don’t need more to maintain.”

The city’s Landmark Commission gave landmark status to the school last year, so any changes to its facade would need that commission’s and Council approval.