Historic Catty Building Could be History

McHenry County declared May Local History Month and Huntley has plenty of history and historical landmarks.

The Catty Corp. building, at Church and Mill streets, is one of those landmarks. Dating back to the 1870s, the building has been used by different businesses, including the Bel Boy Beer made by Huntley Brewing Company.

But Huntley could lose the landmark.

The 33,100-square-foot building, on 2.6 acres, has been for sale since last summer. Billed as a great investment opportunity, the property’s list price is $649,900; it is also available for lease, said Premier Commercial Realty Realtor Bruce Kaplan.

Huntley Realtor Joseph Render had been the listing agent until recently, when the owner decided to try a different agency that specialized in commercial sales.

“It’s an interesting old building,” Render said. “It had been many things: a brewery, a creamery, an aluminum production building. It’s a neat old brick building. You can imagine it as a bustling place when (downtown Huntley) was the center of industry at one time.”

Render saw a lot of interest in the property but “no one pulled the trigger,” he said. Prospective buyers thought it could be used as a senior center, a self-storage building and even a microbrewery.

The building needs work, both Render and Kaplan said. The interior and exterior need renovations and work on the heating, air conditioning and plumbing is needed, Kaplan said.

“It’s been subject to vandalism, so it’s not a pretty picture,” Kaplan said. “It’s right at that point where someone has to make a determination if it’s salvageable.”

The village of Huntley’s downtown master plan calls for multifamily use of the site, although it is zoned for manufacturing, Village Manager Dave Johnson said.

“That plan is a roadmap, not an absolute,” Johnson said.

Huntley’s Historic Preservation Committee was involved in the focus groups and discussions when the plan was being developed, he said. It’s been almost a decade since the building was used, so a new owner would need to invest in the building to make it functional, he said.

While the village would like to preserve historical buildings, it is private property, Johnson said. He compared the Catty building to the Marlowe Feed building that was torn down last year. It, too, was a significant part of the village’s history.

Local historian Tom Conley thinks it would be the perfect place for revitalization. It would be a good place for shops and restaurants, similar to developments in other historic towns, he said.

“It’s a great piece of property,” Conley said. “It’s got lots of problems but nothing that isn’t resolvable.

A microbrewery would be a good fit given the building’s history.

The Catty building was home to Bel Boy Beer. Conley and Jake Marino, another Huntley history buff, each have collectibles with the beer’s logo and brand, Huntley Brewing Company.

The building got its name from Catty Inc., which produced aluminum foil. “The Huntley, Illinois plant was opened in 1946 when it was purchased from the Fencil Company. The original portion of the building was built in 1905 for Hezel's Milk Factory,” according to www.cattycorp.com.