Richmond village leaders have long seen the potential of Illinois Highway 173 as a commercial hub. A proposed extension in the area promises not only relief from traffic backups but also more tax-paying business and industrial developers.
But hopes dimmed late last year when 176 acres along the major thoroughfare was bought by the McHenry County Conservation District to preserve as open space, leading village officials to consider their community landlocked.
That could change when the Zoning and Village Boards consider annexing a fragmented 10 acres of Conservation District property, which will leave the door open to future annexations and development.
The conservation district has applied to bring a small, triangular piece of its land south of Illinois 173 and north of Broadway Road into the village. Zoning is expected to change from agricultural to estate. The village would be permitted to run water and sewer lines through the property along Illinois 173 for future developments.
“This is definitely a positive step in relations between the village and the Conservation District,” said Kevin Brusek, village president.
“Without development to the west, we’re stuck. At our northern border we have Wisconsin, to the east is Spring Grove and to the south we’re blocked by Conservation District land at Glacial Park. That’s why I was upset. But the district is showing, through this action, that it will not interfere with Richmond’s economic development.”
It is not the first time the Conservation District has tried to cooperate with the village regarding the 176-acre property.
While negotiating purchase of the land in October, the district considered reselling up to 26 acres of the parcel to Richmond. But legal technicalities prevented a deal.
The seller, Richmond Land Ltd. Partnership, was determined to sell the property as a whole. By law, a Conservation District cannot sell land to any agency, public or private, for development.
The district paid slightly more than $1 million for the land.
Early this year, conservation district officials and the village returned to the bargaining table and worked out the current arrangement.
The district has no immediate plans for the 10-acre parcel, said Craig Hubert, executive director. Brusek said he would like to see the village and district work cooperatively in renovating an old barn on the property. He said it could be used as a working turn-of-the-century farm, an added tourist attraction for the village, which draws a healthy crowd of antique hunters.
“The idea has been discussed, and a historic restoration of the farmhouse or barn is a possibility, but it won’t be a reality anytime soon,” said Hubert.
The remaining acreage, containing oak groves and Nippersink Creek will likely be restored to its original state — prairie and savanna. A trail system on the property may eventually link to the nearby Prairie Trail bike path, and the district’s future Hebron Trail, near Keystone Road, said district officials.
It is still uncertain if a state highway extension will ever run through the conservation district property. The Illinois Department of Transportation has, since the 1960s, held easements on a swath that cuts through the district’s parcel.
It lies in reserve for an extension of Illinois Highway 53, from Lake-Cook Road in Lake County to the Wisconsin border. Richmond officials hope it will eventually be developed as a bypass to busy U.S. Highway 12, Richmond’s Main Street.
