McHenry Times

At their March 23rd board meeting, the village officials from Huntley discussed plans for the future of the vacant lots located on Main Street. The city recently acquired the areas of 11810 Main Street through a lease agreement. The properties sit between some other vacant lots and a new proposed business, and the council and city staff have been discussing what they could do to improve and develop the area. Village manager David Johnson, along with other village and downtown leadership, has been working with vendors and business owners on some ideas, including murals and wall art on the sides of the building adjacent to the vacant lot.

One of the buildings next to the lot is owned by the Lincolns, who are opening a new store. They have proposed putting up some historical photos or art of Huntley on the side of the building, and across the lot they can also do some fun art or murals, like wings or crowns, something that could function as an Instagram or photo backdrop for residents and visitors. Along with this, the village staff has proposed creating a brick and turf courtyard to encourage visitation of those art pieces, putting in a brick pathway with some chairs and string lighting between the buildings for people to sit and enjoy. The village would install the patio and turf, with total cost estimates of around $27,000, and the Lincolns would maintain all furniture.

“And again, this would be open to anybody and everybody,” David Johnson, Village Manager of Huntley, said. “The idea, again, is to create a walkway, a pocket park, if you want to call it that, between Main and Coral. You know, we've heard from the board loud and clear that, you know, the transformation of Coral is important. We think that this adds another element to that.”

The western vacant lot would be much simpler, with new benches and enhanced landscaping, and adding historic signage. They hope to have the benches dedicated to people or causes by some other residents. Board members were pleased with the enhancement to the downtown area, which is a project they are passionate about. They talked about potential painted murals on the buildings, however, that might be too much of a project currently going on, and the city can put vinyl pictures on the brick, which would be very similar to a mural but easy to swap out.