New rental, retail coming
The final component of the Euclid Terraces project will bring a combination
of rental apartments and retail merchants to the southwest corner of Euclid
Avenue and Lake Street. A key feature of the design includes a landscaped,
brick walkway providing pedestrian access between the Avenue Garage and
Lake Street. The development will replace the current Tasty Dog restaurant,
which will soon be moving to a new facility across the street.
Residents invited to comment on Roosevelt Road concepts
Public input is being sought on draft recommendations for ways to improve
the economic vitality of the 1.5 mile Roosevelt Road corridor between Austin
Boulevard and Harlem Avenue. Funded by a state grant the Village helped
Berwyn to acquire, the study identifies the corridor's assets and offers
a range of ideas on how best to invigorate the area. Recommendations include
nurturing pedestrian travel with wider sidewalks, landscaping and improved
lighting, improving traffic flow and control with medians, and attracting
specialized boutiques and residential development to the area. Residents
can review the plan at www.oak-park.us
-- click on news, then the icon in the right column. Copies also can be
reviewed in the Office of the Village Clerk in Village Hall or purchased
for $5. Comments should be directed to the Development Services Department,
Village Hall, 123 Madison St., Oak Park, IL 60302 or via email to devsvcs@oak-park.us.
Proposals Sought for Development of Village-Owned Property on Lake Street
Experienced developers have been asked to present ideas for the nearly 35,000
square feet of publicly owned property that fronts along the 1100 block
of Lake Street in the heart of Oak Park's downtown business district. The
formal Request for Proposals (RFP), issued in March, seeks concepts for
the former Maple Furrier store and adjacent metered parking lot as well
as the Drechsler Building, a structure with historic significance that development
proposals will be required to preserve. RFP responses are due at Village
Hall by 5 p.m., May 2. In addition to incorporating the Drechsler Building
into the project design, proposals also must create a pedestrian and vehicle
right-of-way between Lake Street and the Holley Court Garage. Access to
the garage and an open, inviting walkway are key components of the Village's
long-term plan to keep the downtown pedestrian-oriented and linked to the
multi-modal mass transit hub on North Boulevard. In addition, concepts must
be consistent with the existing streetscape and expand the types of goods
and services now available downtown. Proposers also must demonstrate the
financial ability to transform their concepts into reality. Developers are
fairly free to propose what they think will best work, including incorporating
residential and/or office space at upper levels. Since the parcels are in
a transit overlay zoning district, any development proposal must have retail
along much of the street-level frontage. To review a copy of the RFP, contact
the Development Services Department.
New Parking Garage Approved
The
view west along Lake Street from Scoville Avenue will change in late September
when construction of a new parking facility is scheduled to be completed.
Approved by the elected boards of the Village and Oak Park River Forest
High School District 200, the new 300-car parking structure anchors a comprehensive
parking management plan for the entire neighborhood from South Boulevard
to Chicago Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue to Oak Park Avenue. The facility,
which will be only 15 feet high and extensively landscaped, will be restricted
to high school teachers and staff from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on regular attendance
days, but open to the public all other times, including for special events
at the high school and Ridgeland Common, and Farmer's Market patrons.
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