Burr Ridge Downtown Street Closure Questioned By Mayor

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge's mayor this week questioned the decision to allow the closure of part of the street in the Village Center shopping center.

In recent times, a section of Village Center Drive has been closed to make it more pedestrian-friendly.

At a Village Board meeting, Mayor Gary Grasso said the village should reconsider the road's closure and at least open it to one lane of traffic during the winter.

"I am concerned about how it seems to have isolated the other end of the Village Center," the mayor said. "I walked it a couple of days ago, and I'm just wondering if, at least in the wintertime, we should be doing something to make the other end of the Village Center more accessible, at least in a one-way direction."

He said he would ask the village's staff to take a "quick look" at the issue. No other Village Board members commented.

The 20-year-old shopping center has often been referred to as the village's downtown.

Village Center Drive is privately owned. The shopping center's owner initiated the project a few years ago as part of its "entertainment district."

Relatively young towns such as Burr Ridge and Darien lack traditional downtowns, such as those in Hinsdale, La Grange, Western Springs and Clarendon Hills.

Last year, Chicago-based investor David Husman's Heartland Real Estate Partners bought the Village Center for $55 million, a real estate publication reported.

On Wednesday morning, Patch left a message for comment with Heartland.