Running through the interactive fountains at Burr Ridge Village Center on a recent warm summer day had Mia and Leo Mitov feeling like a million bucks.
Little did the youngsters know that their spot to cool off is in the shadows of a fireplace and more than $2 million in improvements being made at the business and residential center to make it a more inviting place. A just completed fireplace at the north end of the plaza will be the centerpiece of a fireplace plaza being created.
“We want to make it a shopping experience,” said Kristy Tramontana, general manager of the Village Center. “It all matters in trying to get and keep shoppers. It’s about providing an experience.”
High-end benches and chairs will be put near the fireplace by August.
Efforts are being made to draw people and stores to the Village Center’s north end, a stumbling block throughout the center’s existence. Having cars go around the north end loop and eliminating the turnabout near Topaz, which was done in November, is seen as a way to get more traffic and attention on the north end of the center.
“The way the center was laid out, people would not see what was at the north end of the center,” said Christina Komer, marketing director for Village Center, which has 195,000 square feet of retail space, 196 luxury residential units and 37,000 square feet of office condos. “We’ve worked to get signage up to direct people down to the north end.”
Improvement work at the center will go on until spring when additional landscaping will be completed.
The soon-to-start expansion of Cooper’s Hawk is seen as a boost to the plaza, with the eatery growing to take over the former Yankee Candle and Sunglass Hut storefronts adjacent to the restaurant.
“They are a destination business,” Tramontana said. “They will be happy to have the extra room.”
She also expressed hope of drawing a specialty grocer to the plaza at some point.
Kevin Beese is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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