Western Springs Area Targeted For Upgrades

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — Western Springs is looking to improve a downtown block that includes popular outdoor dining areas, a village official says.

On Monday, the Village Board is set to discuss a consulting agreement with an architect for improvements for one block of Hillgrove Avenue, between Wolf Road and Lawn Avenue.

The area includes the dining areas for Hillgrove Tap and Guac N Tacos. They are in the 800 Hillgrove building, constructed in 2004 and expanded four years later.

Last week, Martin Scott, the village's community development director, said in a memo the block's planters will be removed because the trees were not the right species, with the roots causing damage to the planters.

Also, he said, the outdoor dining area was constructed with a "less than ideal" stone base when 800 Hillgrove was built.

In the last couple of years, outdoor dining has expanded in the area, showing that it could occur with little impact to parking and traffic, Scott said.

"To that end, staff believes that this area has merit for future improvements," Scott said in the memo.

The staff is recommending the village enter an agreement with Evanston-based Teska Associates, a planning and landscape architectural firm. The village wants a plan that would guide the preparation of construction documents.

The cost of Teska's work would amount to $10,780, Scott said. The village, he said, has developed no specific timeline for construction of the new Hillgrove Avenue "streetscape."

"Funding for the project will be explored as the plan is created and high-level estimates are generated," Scott said.

Construction costs and budgeting would be discussed by the Village Board in relation to other infrastructure projects, Scott said. Many in the village are calling for more to be spent on projects to curtail flooding, while one neighborhood is asking for sidewalks.