The proposed New Lenox Commons project, under discussion for many years, may be moving forward soon, members of the New Lenox Open Space Committee said.
The proposed commons area, envisioned as a village green-type of town center, is a tract of open land south of U.S. Highway 30 and east of Vine Street.
Supporters of the plan say an area of park land; public buildings, such as a new Village Hall; shops, and possibly town homes in the center of town would serve as a gathering place for residents.
But land costs are a roadblock in realizing the vision. New Lenox owns only 2.3 acres of the land, and wants to purchase more.
A village land purchase may be in the cards this year. After applications for a state grant were turned down two years in a row, trustees have allocated $750,000 that is earmarked for buying land.