BNC declines to add Woodstock, Woodstock North
Woodstock’s Brecken Overly
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
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DOWNTOWN ALGONQUIN DEVELOPMENT
Plaza work underway
Residents weigh in on talks D-156 board considers latest offer from teachers By EMILY K. COLEMAN
By the numbers
ecoleman@shawmedia.com
Photos by Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
An interior view from the third floor of the Riverside Plaza is seen Tuesday in Algonquin. Interior construction work at the Plaza is underway. At one point, the exterior stood unfinished for two years. Workers are converting the 54 condos into 63 rental apartment units. The permits needed to start interior construction were obtained earlier this month and the building is expected to be ready for occupancy in August.
Crews installing framework for 63 luxury apartments By JOSEPH BUSTOS
Road closure ahead
jbustos@shawmedia.com ALGONQUIN – Inside the four-story Riverside Plaza, workers are tearing down the old framework of 54 condominiums and using saws and nail guns to build the new framework for 63 apartments. After several years of delay, construction of the luxury residential units Online at 1 N. Main St. is underway. To view The village isvideo about sued a building the interior permit for interior work at the construction beginning of at Riverside the month. Plaza, visit The interior NWHerald. construction com/video. work is costing $7.3 million, according to the village. In 2012, the village gave developer John Breugelmans the OK to change the project from luxury condos to luxury rental apartments, with an agreement that the units eventually would switch back to owner-occupied dwellings when the market allows. Since the beginning of month, crews have been de-
Stern Built construction employee Dan Matteson works Tuesday on a recently redesigned apartment inside Riverside Plaza in Algonquin. molishing the interior framework for the 54 condos and putting in the framework for 63 apartments. Bathroom and bedroom layouts have been changed, said contractor Jason Sternitzky, who carries unit layouts with him. By March, most of the interior demolition and reconstruction of the new framework should be complete, Sternitzky said. They are expecting to have tenants by August.
“If everything lines up and continues to go smooth, it should work out,” Sternitzky said. When the work is complete, units will have Italian cabinetry, hardwood floors, a bathroom for each bedroom and washers and dryers, among other things, Sternitzky said. “They’re really set up for modern-day living and conveniences,” Sternitzky said. Building manager Doug Pace said there will be two floors of heated parking, as
As part of the interior work on the Riverside Plaza project, westbound traffic on Front Street in Algonquin is scheduled to be closed until midMay, according to the village. Workers are using half of the street for staging, including a dumpster for the project. People who want to go west on Front Street should use Algonquin Road as a detour. Access to The Texan BBQ is available from Route 31, said Russell Farnum, community development director for the village.
well as two elevators. He added the building might be attractive to young professionals who travel a lot and seniors. Contractors were itching to get started on the interior of the building, Sternitzky said. Sternitzky completed the exterior decks and woodwork two and a half years ago. “After that, supposedly we were going to get a contract to come inside and start demolition on that,” Sternitzky said.
McHENRY – As the threat of a strike hangs over District 156 teacher contract negotiations, parents, teachers, students and taxpayers filed into the Tuesday school board meeting to weigh in. The School District 156 Board received the teachers union’s offer at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, said school board Secretary Pro Tem Gary Kinshofer, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting in the absence of the board president. The board planned on discussing the offer during its closed session that evening and making a counteroffer Wednesday. For the most part, the nine speakers were divided along whether they were teachers, students or parents, or if their connection to the district primarily came down to their tax bill, which some of them said had climbed to difficult levels. Teachers should get used to “a new normal,” said Bill Preston, a McHenry resident
Average teacher salary for the three high school districts in McHenry County: n $72,196: McHenry Community High School District 156 n $69,174: Marengo Community High School District 154 n $94,866: Community District 155 (average also includes salaries of department chairmen)
See D-156, page A6
GOP governor hopefuls debate Four focus on pensions, taxes The ASSOCIATED PRESS SPRINGFIELD – Illinois’ four Republican gubernatorial candidates said Tuesday that they are willing to work with unions if elected but differed on how to approach the relationship during a debate that largely focused on pension reform, taxes, business and briefly on personal issues that have dogged some of them. Treasurer Dan Rutherford, businessman Bruce Rauner and state Sens. Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady concentrated their comments on how to defeat Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, making only fleeting references to allegations of misconduct
Election Central Follow the local, state and national races at NWHerald. com/election.
See RIVERSIDE, page A6 See DEBATE, page A6
LOCALLY SPEAKING Patricia Bearden
Jim Dallke – jdallke@shawmedia.com
McHENRY COUNTY
CARY
2 MEN PLEAD NOT GUILTY IN COURT
JACOBS’ DEFENSE DEFEATS TROJANS
Two men who arrived at the county jail last week from Las Vegas pleaded not guilty Tuesday to unrelated charges. Michael W. Romano, 54, is accused in a 2006 double homicide. He remains in custody in lieu of $3 million bond. William J. Ross, 62, was charged with concealing a homicide. He posted bond and was released. For more, see page B1.
Jacobs held Cary-Grove to 22 percent shooting and defeated the Trojans, 47-31, in a pivotal Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball game. The victory means Jacobs (13-12 overall, 7-3 FVC Valley) will host Huntley (16-7, 8-2) at 7 p.m. Friday with a chance to tie for the division lead. For more, see page C1.
CRYSTAL LAKE: MCC event focuses on tracing family history through genealogy. Local&Region, B1
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