McHenry Market Pulse: New Businesses locating and expanding in the City of McHenry and approval of the City of McHenry Recreation Center!!!

This past Monday March 16 the City Council approved the following requests:

Annexation, rezoning and a conditional use permit for the property located at 4605 W Crystal Lake Road. The existing structures will be razed and a new memory care facility, for up to 48 individuals, will be constructed exclusively for Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients. The developer of the project, Barron Development, is the same developer which constructed the Heritage Woods Independent and Assisted Living Facility immediately to the south…

Additionally, the full access point from Heritage Woods to Crystal Lake Road will be converted to a right-in/right-out only access, and a driveway will be constructed from the Heritage Woods property to the new memory care site so people going to or leaving Heritage Woods will now have access to the traffic signal at Royal Drive and Crystal Lake Road…

Also at the meeting on Monday night a conditional use permit was approved for Starbucks, 2210 N Richmond Road, which is located in McHenry Towne Center on north Richmond Road. The conditional use permit will allow Starbucks to add a drive-thru to their existing space. The drive-thru window will be located on the north side of the building, with customers entering from the interior ring road within the shopping center traveling north, along the rear of the building and turning west. It will be constructed similarly to the one located at the building immediately to the north which serves the Oberweis store.

A conditional use permit was approved for the property located at 926 N Front Street (former Carquest) building. This building had been vacant for a couple of years and is currently being occupied by Principio Auto Group-a new business to the City of McHenry!!! The conditional use permit allows the business to display vehicles and trailers for sale outside and repair vehicles and trailers.

A conditional use permit was also approved for the property located at 3939 Albany Street, which is located in the Tonyan Industrial Park on South Illinois Route 31. This building was also vacant for several years but will be occupied by Five Star Pallets-a new business to the City of McHenry!!! Five Star Pallets repairs/remanufactures wooden pallets for their customers and the conditional use permit allows them to store wooden outside pallets outside at the southern end of the property.

The City Council also awarded a contract for construction of the first phase of the City of McHenry Recreation Center to Stuckey Construction Company. The facility was designed by FGM Architects in cooperation with HR Green, which designed the civil engineering for the site. This first phase will consist of an approximately 18,200 square-foot recreation center for programming, fitness needs and include multi-purpose rooms. This is the first of a multi-phased recreation and aquatic campus which will be located immediately west of the Municipal Center, north of Municipal Drive and east of Knox Drive. The facility is being constructed on City-owned property, using funds the City had saved since 1999 and received through developer donations/park impact fees. Staffing and operational expenses for the recreation center will be paid through user fees, and the facility will be financially self-sustaining without the use of taxpayer dollars!!!!!!

Congratulations to Barron Development, Starbucks, Principio Auto Group, Five Star Pallets. and the City of McHenry!!! The City wishes the best of luck and success to all these businesses and appreciates them locating to/expanding in the City of McHenry!!!!!! Stay tuned for updates on these and other projects….

Coming in future blog posts:

What are economic development clusters and value chains?
What are SIC, SOC and NAICS codes and what were/are they used for?
What factors do non-retail businesses consider when thinking about relocating?
How do brick and mortar businesses remain competitive with on-line businesses?
What are Class A, B and C spaces?
Franchising? What is it? What companies offer it and what challenges are associated with attracting a retailer which operates exclusively using franchising?
Future trends in economic development: “market segmentation” “showrooming”; “pop-up” stores; “placemaking/third places” and “creating an experience”….
Challenges associated with economic development…