Challenges, as well as opportunities lie ahead for residents of La Grange and La Grange Park in 2016.
La Grange Village President Tom Livingston has dubbed the new year as one of construction and implementation of projects launched in 2015.
Flood control
Engineering studies are underway to mitigate flooding that wiped out basements south of 47th Street in 2014 and 2010. Voters approved a 0.75 percentage point sales tax hike to finance $14.4 million in projects.
A flood wall along Brainard Avenue is intended to curb overland flooding coming from the southwest through the La Grange Country Club during unusually heavy rains in a short period of time that overwhelm sewers.
A 54-inch storm sewer beneath 50th Street and a lateral sewer along 9th Avenue are being designed to alleviate flooding in low-lying areas, where water was seen chest-high on Spring Avenue at 50th and 51st streets in 2014.
Consolidated Dispatch Center
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Intergovernmental agreements were signed in 2015 by La Grange, La Grange Park and Western Springs forming the new Lyons Township Area Communications Center to combine emergency services dispatching.
Representatives of the three communities said studies showed the consolidation would provide enhanced service, retain local control and save money in the long run after initial equipment upgrades by forming their own center, rather than joining a larger neighboring agency.
With a governance board and operating structure in place, the center hopes to attract other neighboring communities to join and enjoy cost savings. A new state law requires all communities with fewer than 25,000 residents to be part of a consolidated center by July 1, 2017
An architectural study is being completed to redesign part of the La Grange Police Department where the center will be located. It is expected to be operational by the end of 2016, officials said.
Residential and commercial
Construction has begun on two major residential developments. Twenty-three luxury condominiums are being built at Ashland and Harris avenues in a five-story brick structure, including a rooftop garden and deck.
Uptown La Grange, a 254-unit upscale apartment complex with a separate commercial building replaces the former Rich Port YMCA on the northeast corner of Ogden Avenue and La Grange Road.
Residential units in the L-shaped six-story building will wrap around a parking structure. The complex will offer a host of amenities, such as a gourmet kitchen and health club, geared toward affluent young professionals and empty nesters, according to project managers from Opus Development Co., LLC, based in Rosemont.
The developer has agreed to contribute $300,000 toward installation of a traffic signal proposed for Ogden and Locust avenues, under review by state transportation officials.
Livingston said village officials also are pleased to see other firms and organizations investing in La Grange, including a new parish center at St. Cletus Catholic Church on the south, SO Stockholm Objects in the West End and a fitness center and industrial firm east of La Grange Road.
“We are seeing projects in every corner of the village, which is encouraging,” he said.
BEDS Plus
Livingston said he’s optimistic a legal challenge since the spring will be resolved in favor a proposal from BEDS Plus for a center serving the homeless at Ogden and East avenues.
The nonprofit agency’s plan includes offices and meeting spaces on the first floor for counseling, referrals and job training services with 10 units on each of the two floors above for chronically homeless persons. The agency will continue to offer emergency overnight shelter at seven churches in the surrounding area on a rotating basis.
Organizers from BEDS Plus are proceeding with fundraising efforts and plans to be “shovel ready” once the project’s legal status is made clear, the village president said. Terms of the agreement with the village stipulate the agency has 12 months to raise $4 million and another six months to begin construction.
At issue is who owns the center’s proposed site, formerly in foreclosure. The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8 on the proceedings brought by resident Josh McGee, represented by a lawyer in a firm owned by Plan Commission member Julie Egan, who voted against the project.
Debate on the proposed center sharply divided residents on the issue with neighbors to the south raising safety concerns, an adverse impact on property values, a drain on village services and the loss of a potential commercial enterprise at the site and tax revenue.
Neighborhood safety
The second shooting in less than three months on Jan. 27 left residents near Ogden and East avenues on edge and anxious for stepped up police patrols.
Livingston said some of the suggestions have been implemented from a community brainstorming session in February, including involving more neighborhood residents and opponents of the proposed BEDS Plus center for the homeless on village advisory groups.
Additional meetings have been held with residents and village staff members and department heads, and continued collaboration is needed, he said.
One further suggestion up for continued discussion is holding a community-wide event in the neighborhood, such as a fun run or festival, the village president said.
La Grange Park referendum
Voters will be asked March 15 to fix bumpy roads and buy two emergency vehicles at a cost of $11.2 million in two separate referendum proposals.
If the two proposals are approved, it would cost an estimate $380 a year over the next decade for the owner of a home with a market value of $350,000, said Village Manager Julia Cedillo. That equates to a little more than a dollar a day, she said.
Village President Jim Discipio said officials hope to take care of long-delayed road repairs and repave streets once every 35 years, instead of every 70 years.
Funds for a new ambulance and ladder truck are sought to replace outdated vehicles and insure a continued top fire safety rating for residents and businesses, officials said.
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TIF District
A consultant’s study is expected in January or February on the feasibility of forming up to five tax increment financing districts to spur economic development.
“All we want to do is try to stimulate some economic activity,” Discipio said. “The business association is doing a great job. We’re trying to retain and attract new businesses.”
In a tax increment financing district, taxes generated by the increase in assessed value each year are put into a fund, instead of being paid to all the taxing bodies. That money can be spent on public improvements within the district.
TIF districts generally are created for 23 years. When they expire, the tax situation returns to normal and, if successful, all taxing bodies get more taxes from the increased value of the property within the district.
Areas under consideration are the Village Market Shopping Center, three sections of 31st Street and Barnsdale Road between 31st and 26th streets.
Twitter: @janemichaels22