Developer proposes 52 apartments at Catty site in Huntley

Huntley has been in conversations with a property management company about the sale of the property since September

A design concept proposed by True North Properties to the Village of Huntley

The Huntley Village Board will review a proposal from a vacation rental company to create 52 apartments at the site of the former Catty property at Thursday’s board meeting.

True North Properties, a property management company from Wauconda, is proposing to build new apartment buildings at the Catty site in addition to converting the existing building to into an apartment building as well.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that the company involved was from Traverse City, Mich., and specialized in short-term and vacation rentals. The company involved is based in Wauconda and did the redevelopment of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Crystal Lake.

The company submitted drawings for the village to review Thursday, but no formal votes on the proposal will be taken. The village has been in conversations with True North since September on an agreement for the company to purchase the property from the village.

Under True North’s proposal, the existing Catty building would be converted into 37 apartment units, made up of 17 studio apartments, 16 one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom units.

True North also proposed additional construction on the site: Five new buildings with three flats for rent in each one, according to village documents. The new buildings would have a modern design to complement the industrial look of the Catty building and warehouse on the property.

The 15 units in the new building would bring the total number of apartment units on the property to 52. True North had proposed 30 to 50 apartment units at the site in its pitch to the Huntley Village Board.

Huntley Village Administrator Dave Johnson said True North caught the village’s eye when they were chosen for the redevelopment of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Crystal Lake. He said the Catty property holds historical value for the village and he thinks True North would be able to successfully develop and preserve the property’s history.

Earlier in November, the Village Board hosted a special meeting to discuss additional development, including parking, in Huntley’s downtown area. The village discussed extending the municipal parking into a gravel lot next to the Catty property, however, the village estimates $2.85 million would need to be spent to relocated power lines and water mains in the area.

True North also is leaving open the possibility of adding a train station on the property in the future, according to village documents.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has been keeping the door open to extending Metra service to Rockford, Belvidere and Huntley from the Milwaukee District West line, which currently runs between Union Station in Chicago and Elgin. Discussions also have swirled for several years about adding Amtrak service through Huntley.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that the company involved was from Traverse City, Mich., and specialized in short-term and vacation rentals. The company involved is based in Wauconda and did the redevelopment of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Crystal Lake.