Redevelopment Plan Would Substantially Alter Village Downtown Over 15 Years

The newest Western Springs redevelopment plan, well over a year in the making, which was presented to the public at a special commission meeting last Monday night, is far more than a simple cosmetic makeover.

If all facets of the plan come to fruition, 15 years from now residents could see a redesigned post office and Village Hall, new downtown parking lots, existing retail converted to two- and three-story mixed-use buildings, garden-style landscaping along the railway, new front facades on almost every building in the downtown and a complete overhaul of homes in northern Ridge Acres to create multi-family housing and row-homes.

And those are just a few parts of the sweeping design changes that would render the downtown largely unrecognizable from what it is today.

“Downtown Western Springs will be an economically sustainable center of community life, offering a charming and vibrant destination to meet daily and destination shopping and dining needs,” reads the official “vision statement” of the plan, which was assembled in partnership with residents.

“The downtown will remain sensitive to the historic scale and character of Western Springs, while offering expanded opportunities to shop, live, work and play in a family friendly environment.”

Critically, the plan, which is over 100 pages long, is not a legal document or any amendment to the Village code—it is simply a set of guidelines for how future ordinances might be pursued. And while it is not the first attempt by the Village to lay out a path for redevelopment and beautification, Village officials say it is the best to date.

“The plans that were done in the past, I think were very well intentioned, and gave some guidance to different aspects of what needed to happen and what still needs to happen, but didn’t go far enough and weren’t comprehensive enough,” said Village Director of Community Development Marty Scott. “This is a comprehensive plan focused in on our downtown.”

The first step of the plan, to be implemented over the next three years, would be primarily centered on the heart of the downtown: the area surrounding the train platform, including Tower Green and both sides of the street between Wolf Road and Grand Avenue.

Improvements that would be added in those three years would include wayfinding signage across the downtown, improvement of the train platform, installation of community-events signs both downtown and in major parks (Spring Rock and/or Springdale) and improvements in lighting, landscaping and maintenance of Tower Green.

Additionally, three “quick-hit” ideas, voted on by the community, would also be slated for fast incorporation. The leading ideas from a February 10 community meeting were to add an outdoor café/seating area to Tower Park, to amend Village ordinances to entice more businesses and to use vacant storefronts for promotion of local opportunities and events.

“There’s been a lot of community involvement in this process, and I’ve really enjoyed working with the community,” said Mike Hoffman of Teska Associates, who is the project manager for the redevelopment plan. ““We tried to touch base with as many people as possible while developing this concept.”

In the longer-term, several blocks of buildings are being considered for either simple façade renovation or complete overhaul and conversion into mixed-uses structures, with retail on ground floors and offices or apartments up above.

These include the former Tischler’s building along with neighbor Benak Auto Care, the former Community Bank of Western Springs and attached vacant buildings along Burlington Avenue, the blocks of buildings along western Hillgrove Avenue (7-11, Tower Lighting, the former Book Rack, etc.), and even Village Hall and the Village post office, which could end up as just one floor of a mixed-use building.

The block containing The Competitive Foot and Dixon Realtors is no longer being considered for mixed-use construction as it was deemed economically infeasible. And the plan is based on expectations of economic recovery—continued recession could hamper any plans.

All new construction and renovation would hold true to a complex set of aesthetic principles, obtained through a community survey. A few examples: sloped roofs are favored, retail businesses should have awnings and attractive signage and multi-story buildings should subscribe to a “base-middle-top” tripartite design.

Beyond commercial redevelopment, the plan also calls for the conversion of two blocks of residential housing near and along Burlington Avenue into thin row-homes, increasing the number of unites from 27 to 40. These unites would be angled as to not face the railroad, and may be beautified with a small pond.

Additionally, 10 homes between Johnson Avenue and Franklin Avenue would be demolished and turned into multiple-story multi-family housing.

“This plan is great,” said Joe Lane, manager of Casey’s Market and president of the Western Springs Business Association. “I love this town, and I want to see this business district be viable with new businesses… I’m hoping soon there won’t be any vacant storefronts… There are some improvements that need to happen to make this a destination town, and I think this plan is a great step in the right direction.”

However, after resident John Madell raised questions as to how the new plan would sync with the Village Land Use Plan passed in 2003, the public hearing was continued to May 31st to resolve issues relating to the discrepancies between the plans.