$3M State Grant Awarded To Joliet For City Square Project

JOLIET, IL — For more than four years, Joliet has talked about creating a downtown City Square, but the project has never gone anywhere. On Thursday, though, city officials announced that the project may finally happen in a couple of years.

Joliet is getting $3 million in funding from the Rebuild Downtowns & Main Streets Capital Grant Program through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The mayor's office announced that final design is expected to wrap up by late 2023 and construction of the City Square will begin in 2024.

The project must be completed by the end of 2025. Both historic Route 66 and the Rialto Square Theater will celebrate their 100-year anniversaries in 2026.

“With the completion of both the Chicago Street reconstruction and City Square projects, the Chicago Street corridor is poised to become once again one of the southwest region’s most vibrant urban spaces, well-loved by the community and a memorable destination for tourists,” Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk announced in Thursday's news release.

O'Dekirk also said, "It will bring a vibrant gathering place to the heart of downtown Joliet.”