Growth in Oak Park? It's Part of the Plan

Additional housing and more retail space have helped ignite development, village officials said Monday as part of a progress report of Oak Park's 20-year guide for downtown growth.

From 2005 to 2010, the village saw the addition of 330 housing units — that's 28 percent of what was proposed in the Greater Downtown Master Plan. During the same period, 45,000 square feet of retail space, or 22 percent, was added.

Here's a look at the scorecard so far for development in the area consisting of downtown Oak Park, the Avenue and South Marion Street, er, wait, the Pleasant District.

What's Done

• North Marion Street — the addition of brick pavers, bluestone sidewalks and granite curbs dressed up the street, from Lake Street south to North Boulevard. An under-surface heating systems melts snow on the sidewalks.
• Sprucing up the Oak Park Avenue underpass.

What's in the Wings

• The Lake and Forest parking structure, which will become part of the being created by Sertus Capital Partners.
• Sprucing up the Marion Street underpass.

Under Construction

• — The street will get the same improvements as North Marion. Aging water and sewer lines will also be replaced.

Under Consideration

• A parking structure that will be part of Colt site redevelopment. The Colt Building, owned by the village, is on Lake Street just east of Harlem Avenue, and is currently a surface parking lot. 
• "Station Street," a new pathway for cars that would link Lake Street and North Boulevard. The street is slated to be built near 1133 Westgate Ave., which was just bought by the village.
• Streetscape improvements, similar to those being added on , would be added along South and North Oak Park Avenues.

By 2015, Oak Park “will be hitting almost 50 percent completion of all public projects that were identified. We’re pretty much on target,” Village Planner Craig Failor said.

Private developments are a different story, with many high profile plans still on the sidelines. To that end, here's a look at what's planned between 2010 and 2015:

• The Lake and Forest project, a glitzy, multi-use mega project that's recently revamped plans, now calling for 270 high-end rental apartments in addition to retail space. Public and private parking and 25,000 square feet of retail will still be in the mix there. The project is under review by the plan commission and could be completed by the third quarter of 2014.
• Westgate/Colt building area, between Lake Street, North Boulevard and Marion Street. Clark Street, a Chicago-based firm, is the preferred developer and only retail is being contemplated. The village’s recent purchase of the two-story office building at 1133 Westgate Ave. could help pave the way for the project.
• South Boulevard and Harlem Avenue, a mixed-use project with rental units, retail and, possibly, office use; the Morningside  Group was chosen as the developer in 2007.
• The Soho Development at South Boulevard and Home Avenue, which remains partially finished for a variety of reasons.

What does this all add up to? Check back tomorrow, when we'll offer even more updates on progress for the Master Plan.