For a place with no train station, the southern suburb of Crest Hill sure has connections that attract residents.
In the last decade, this city in Will County has undergone a growth spurt, luring newcomers who appreciate its strong transportation network and housing affordability.
“When you look at where Crest Hill is in relation to Chicago, Rockford and the rest of the state, we’re well-situated where we have access to Interstates 55, 80 and 355, and Metra and Amtrak,” said Bryan Gay, economic development director of Crest Hill. “We have three train stations within a 10-minute drive. We have great accessibility to transportation where you can get to anywhere you want to go to.”
Crest Hill has grown 56 percent since 2000, to a population of about 21,000. Recent arrivals are mixed in with families who have lived here for generations. Senior citizens make up a large part of the city’s demographics, said Gay, noting that Crest Hill has three developments geared toward older residents.
Mayor Ray Soliman agrees that location has been the key to Crest Hill’s growth. “We also have a lot to offer with our restaurants, affordable housing, school system and many shopping opportunities close by,” he said.
Attracting and retaining retail establishments has become a top priority for the city.
“We’re working with commercial property owners in town to get new retail space,” said Gay. “We’re also working to attract new businesses and keep existing businesses here.”
Soliman said the Weber Road corridor is an ideal location for retail development. “It’s very conducive for chain restaurants and retail,” he said.
The commercial sector had modest growth this year, with a handful of buildings under construction for new employers.
A vacant strip mall is being converted into offices for the Diocese of Joliet. That’s a sore point for some residents because the city will not receive sales taxes or property taxes for the location.
Stateville Correctional Center, which was here long before Crest Hill was incorporated, remains a major employer. Some residents work in manufacturing districts in Joliet and Romeoville.
In many ways, community activities define Crest Hill. Monthly events such as the Chaney-Monge (Elementary) School gatherings and the American Italian Cultural Society’s spaghetti dinners provide a way for locals to get together in a town that is fairly spread out.
“If you look at the list of the city’s founders, many of those families are still here,” said Jeanne Juricic, a 55-year resident and its unofficial historian. “We came here to raise our kids and stayed.”
Though many residents are of Eastern European descent, the upcoming opening of a grocery store, Supermercado El Guero, is a sign that Crest Hill has become home to a growing Mexican population in the last decade.
Crest Hill shares a fire department, library and park districts with neighboring towns. After making do with a small library branch for many years, book lovers in Crest Hill have something exciting to look forward to in 2013 — a new, 24,000-square-foot facility.
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A spike in violent crime in recent years reflects the city’s growing pains. Police Chief Dwayne Wilkerson said the police department has responded by assigning extra patrols in high-crime areas, working with neighborhood homeowner associations and collaborating with Joliet law enforcement officials.
The community is slowly but surely evolving. As reflected by the secret-sauce recipe at the spaghetti dinners, though, it has established some time-honored traditions. Houses passing from one generation to the next illustrate how longtime residents are proud of the city they have built.
History
When Joliet threatened to annex the original section of Crest Hill, some residents rallied to form a city so they could govern themselves.
“Ladies formed the Crest Hill Women’s Civic League and went door-to-door to raise money to buy a lot in the area that was resistant to incorporation,” said Juricic. It worked; the city incorporated in 1960.
“For many years, people so looked forward to the league’s annual dances, which drew hundreds of people and raised money for the city,” said Juricic.
The league helped build the city one piece at a time, beginning with the purchase of its first ambulance.
Crest Hill was settled by Eastern Europeans who moved here from the Berwyn-Cicero area. Many residents of Eastern European descent gather every June 10 at a monument built to commemorate the 1942 destruction of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, and the massacre of its population by the Nazis.
Things to do
Brent Hassert Park on Renwick Road gives residents an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. The sprawling sports complex is serviced by the Lockport Township Park District.
On the third Saturday of each month, alumni of Chaney-Monge School gather to drink beer and talk White Sox. Organizer Ed Albert said, “When we got on Facebook, I renamed us the Crest Hill, Chaney Area & Beyond Group so anyone can come.”
The doors are also open at the spaghetti dinner sponsored by the American Italian Cultural Society.
“We go through 800 pounds of pasta and serve about 1,600 meals,” said Carla Montagano-Liburdi, the group’s office manager. “You’re welcome if you’re Italian or not, but keeping the Italian heritage alive is part of what we do.”
The city hosts an annual picnic, Halloween parade, Christmas lighting contest and, beginning this year, a Black Friday scavenger hunt.
Other recreational amenities include the Prairie Bluff Public Golf Club, Chaney Pool, Comet Lanes Bowling Center and walking trails at the Theodore Marsh forest preserve.
Housing
Crest Hill’s big selling point is its diverse, affordable housing stock — much of it dating to the recent housing boom — interspersed with apartments.
“You can get a foreclosure in Crest Hill for as little as $14,000,” said Gina Schaal, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell in Joliet. “The average detached house sale is $121,614, and the average attached home is $112,000.”
Resale single-family homes and town homes are available at Carillon Lakes, an active-adult community with more than 1,100 homes built by Cambridge Homes in the last decade.
Transportation
Crest Hill boasts a convenient transportation infrastructure. The addition in 2007 of the Interstate 355 south extension has cut the travel time for commuters and improves mobility between Interstates 55 and 80.
Residents can access train stations in Joliet, Lockport and Romeoville. Pace bus routes 505 and 507 link Crest Hill to Joliet.
Schools
For the most part, elementary and middle-school children from the east side of town attend schools in the Chaney-Monge School District 88, while Richland School District 88A covers the west side.
Crest Hill schools feed into Lockport Township High School in Lockport and Plainfield High School Central Campus in Plainfield. Parochial schools that serve Crest Hill include Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet and Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox.