Marengo expects to receive state money soon to start work building industrial hub near Route 23, I-90 interchange

City will receive nearly $27 million from state

Traffic flows through the intersection of Interstate 90 and Illinois Route 23 on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 near Marengo.

Marengo will receive nearly $27 million in state dollars to help develop the area around its Interstate 90 and Route 23 interchange into an industrial hub and is expecting to start receiving the money soon.

The money will go toward building out infrastructure in the area, namely utility work, that will allow businesses to set up shop in the area, city material states. That work will include water and sewage, electric, plumbing and paving.

Funds will be doled out in installment payments either monthly or quarterly, but it’s not yet known how much each installment will be, Assistant City Administrator Nick Radcliffe said. However, the city will be able to move forward with its work and reimburse itself once the state money comes through.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this without the state,” Radcliffe said. “We’re grateful to them.”

With the grant making its way through the state’s processes, Marengo’s City Council signed off on an agreement with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity at its meeting earlier this month, with the hope that the city will receive direction by the end of this week to see what needs to happen to start receiving the money, Radcliffe said.

While that is sorted, the city is moving forward with Wisconsin-based McMahon Engineering to start getting estimates on what it would cost to build the infrastructure needed to provide the foundation for businesses that would move into the area, Radcliffe said.

Utility work, such as water and sewer, will be the most important priority, Radcliffe said. To that end, one of the first things that will need to be done is installing a water tower and a well.

“That’s our main priority for this project,” Radcliffe said, “is getting water and wastewater services over there.”

The interchange at Route 23 with I-90, opened in 2019, marked the first and still only entry way into McHenry County from the interstate.

As a result, the area is a high priority for local officials, both in Marengo and across the county, who hope the area can grow into an industrial hub. Officials have also teased the possibility that it could host commercial and retail business, as well as hotels or residential.

To help bolster that growth, Marengo was recently added into the county’s enterprise zone, which currently contains Harvard and Woodstock and provides benefits for businesses opening within the zone.

City officials have previously said if the city can start receiving money from the state this year, business could sprout up in the area within the next two or three years.

Many have compared the area to that of Huntley, which lies to the east of Marengo and has an interchange connection to Interstate 90 as well. That connection sits in Kane County.

Huntley, near its interchange, has approved a variety of manufacturing and industrial businesses, including a new Amazon facility.

While Marengo moves to bolster its business and growth, some concerns have arisen over staffing issues. The city brought in a new city administrator earlier this year, only to let him go in the summer because “he just didn’t have what we were looking for,” Mayor John Koziol said in August.

The city has an interim city administrator in place currently, who has said his priority is to keep the city’s plans for growth at the interchange “moving forward.”