Darien Downtown Plan In Limbo

DARIEN, IL — The Darien mayor's proposal to develop a downtown needs the approval of a key entity — Darien School District 61. And he has yet to get it.

The proposed development would be on the northwest corner of Cass Avenue and 75th Street. The 12-acre project would take up the current site of Lace Elementary School, the Old Lace Schoolhouse Museum and Safety Village.

The District 61 board talked about the issue at its meeting this week. Superintendent Robert Carlo said the board wants more information from the city.

"They haven't made a commitment one way or another," the superintendent said. "They have a lot more questions than answers. We need the kids (at Lace) to have a home. It's very conceptual right now. There has been no action."

The Darien School District's enrollment has been dropping over the last couple decades, according to the Illinois Report Card website. Enrollment was 1,463 in 2019, down from 1,795 in 2002, a nearly 20 percent decrease. In just the last five years, Lace Elementary's enrollment has dropped 12 percent.

A half century ago, residents of four residential subdivisions formed an association that ended up founding Darien. Because of that history, Darien has no downtown.

Earlier this month, Mayor Joseph Marchese told the City Council that the development would promote "sustainable living" that could include apartments, condos, retail and parking. He called it the geographic center of town.

The mayor acknowledged the city needed the school district's approval to proceed.