Hickey Memorial Hopes to Add to Sense of Community By Moving to Commons

After years of economic slowdown and waiting for the land just west of the to develop, it appears the wheels are starting to turn to continue toward the goal of creating an epicenter for community activity.

The village announced last week that the empty building on the Commons has finally been sold, and on Monday, the Village Board heard plans from to relocate to the open land in the Commons area.

Hickey Memorial is currently at 442 E. Route 30, across from the Walmart development, but the owners said they need more space and think they would be a good fit in the atmosphere the village has tried to create surrounding the Commons.

“Bringing family and friends together to celebrate the life of a departed loved one, I think that promotes community,” architect Dave TeBrake said, also noting that the move  could attract other businesses to the area that would cater to visiting families, such as restaurants.

The major concerns board trustees had dealt with parking and traffic. The new Hickey Memorial location would be at the southeast corner of the parking lot adjacent to , and it would share some parking spaces with Beggar's but also have plenty of its own.

Trustees asked whether Hickey's clientele would be adversely affected on days that the village was holding events on the Commons, whether it was something smaller like free Wednesday night movies or a large-scale event such as Proud American Days.

Owner Mike Hickey said there shouldn't be an issue because village events are planned ahead of time and the funeral chapel wouldn't get regular traffic every day. Hickey said he anticipates 100 funerals per year, with visitations occurring about every four days and chapel services every 10-12 days. He added that he would also be more than willing to provide use of their parking lot during days of big events.

“The large events you’d have would typically be on the weekends," Hickey said. "And your events are planned well in advance; ours are not.”

More important than the traffic coming into the chapel, the board wanted to address the long funeral processions that would sometimes be leaving the chapel to go to churches for services.

Trustee Annette Bowden asked if there was a way for a direct route through that open space that would go to Nelson Road. There is a road that was started for future use, Independence Drive, but that doesn’t run near Hickey’s planned spot. The trustees discussed possibly requiring that Hickey include a road, or at least one lane for processions to exit, that would run just south of the funeral home, Beggar’s Pizza and other businesses there. The idea is to avoid the circle drive around the Commons and potential trouble getting out onto Route 30 without a light.

The board will take up the issue at another time. Although trustees seemed interested in the opportunity, they wanted to make sure there would be issues with traffic in the future, especially as the Commons area develops, both commercially and in community engagement.

“We just want you to know we have to do whatever we need to continue to build on this Commons area and make it as vibrant as possible," Mayor Tim Baldermann said.