Several long-awaited developments in Darien, Willowbrook, Woodridge and Burr Ridge are expected this year.
In Darien, a new strip mall is under construction near 75th Street and Cass Avenue, and will include a park area adjacent to the mall with a 30-foot-tall triangular clock tower and water feature.
The clock tower’s structure is already taking shape. The park also will feature a brick-paved courtyard, ornamental plants, park benches and natural stone accents.
The former mall and property was owned by the city before being sold to a private developer for $1.2 million in June. Developer Darien Pointe LLC and the city agreed on building the park to help give the city, which has no downtown area, a sense of place.
The developer will contribute $50,000 for the park, according to an agreement, with the city paying $163,055. The aging strip mall building was razed and two new structures are being built in its place.
In neighboring Willowbrook, a new Village Hall is expected to open at 835 Midway Drive early this year. The second phase of the project will include renovating the current Village Hall at 7760 Quincy St. into a new police station in late 2015 and 2016. The final phase will occur in 2016 and 2017 and will involve renovating a newly-acquired 7,000-square-foot building at 825 Midway Drive for the community resource center.
Several businesses are expected to open this year in Willowbrook, including a new Whole Foods that will move to a former Dominick’s site near 63rd Street and Illinois Route 83. A new Pete’s Fresh Market may open at the former Kmart site near Plainfield Road and Route 83.
“We have a lot of good projects underway,” said Willowbrook Village Administrator Tim Halik. “We are going to be extremely busy here in 2015.”
In Woodridge, construction on an $18 million two-story athletic center will begin this year at the 4.8-acre Janes Plaza Shopping Center property near Janes Avenue and 83rd Street. A strip mall at the site was razed in the summer. The facility, the beneficiary of a $2.5 million Illinois Department of Natural Resource’s (PARC) grant, could open in fall 2016.
More Top Picks Redmond 2 Slice Retro
The Woodridge Park District in April secured $9.8 million in debt certificates, which amount to a loan that has to be paid back over 20 years, according to documents. The park district will also receive $2 million in tax increment financing dollars for the center’s design and construction.
Lastly, the Interstate 55 overpass at County Line Road should be complete this spring and become “the gateway to Burr Ridge,” according to state and village officials. Final work will be done when the weather improves and will include landscaping. Several brick pillars with the “BR” logo are already in place on the surface of the bridge.
After learning that the state would embark on the refurbishing project in 2009, village leaders asked if the community could add enhancements. The village funded the project using a $1.8 million grant from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program. A 20 percent village contribution of about $362,500 is a condition of the grant and is being raised through hotel/motel taxes.