Business & Tech
'Streetscaped' Downtown Gets Plenty of Outsider Attention
One of four finalists for a Chicago Building Congress Merit Award, Marvin Windows will be filming a video showing its product being used in local locations.
The charm of Plainfield's Lockport Street is finally getting its due.
The street was one of four finalists for the Chicago Building Congress “Merit Award” in the field of infrastructure construction, aka "streetscape," aka all of the new pavers, lights, benches that are part of the redesigned downtown.
Although it didn't end up receiving the top prize in the category -- that went to Exelon City Solar in Chicago -- it was in good company with the Chicago Transit Authority stations at Fullerton and Belmont and the Union Pacific intermodal facility in Joliet.
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“It was an impressive slate of projects, so to make it to the finalists is something to be very proud of,” said Barbara Krause, assistant executive director of the Chicago Building Congress.
Each year the organization presents six awards to honor outstanding projects built in the greater Chicago area over the past two years.
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In addition to the infrastructure award, other categories are new construction - Chicago, new construction - suburbs, rehab construction, industrial construction and construction under $10 million.
Marvin Windows, too, was captivated by the appeal of Lockport Street. Next month the Minnesota-based company will be sending a video crew to film its windows in the “beautiful and unique” setting of Lockport Street. Among the spots that will be part of the video are the Masonic Lodge at 24050 W. Lockport St., Plainfield First United Methodist Church at 15114 N. Illinois St. and several village homes.
“Plainfield is a lovely example of a Main Street revival project,” said Maura Williams, a marketing manager with Marvin Windows. “It’s a good project to showcase the use of our windows in a variety of building types.”
The company found it “challenging,” Williams said, to find time between downtown events to do the shoot.
“You seem to have a lot going on downtown,” she said. “It seems to be a very active and wonderful community.”
Yes, we know.
ARGOUDELIS WATCH: 226 days since Election Day 2010 and still no statement from Plainfield Township Supervisor John Argoudelis on whether he intends to be both township supervisor and a Will County Board member.
