Elmwood Park and River Grove will have new housing options in 2020, while new parks and road improvements will add to the safety and amenities of both villages.
Housing and dining
New commercial and residential properties are planned for both the Elmwood Park and Chicago sides of Harlem Avenue, near North Avenue, at 1630 N. Harlem Ave. in Elmwood Park and 1601 N. Harlem Ave. in Chicago.
Elmwood Park Mayor Angelo “Skip” Saviano said he’s excited about both mixed-use sites coming in 2020, especially for a grocery store coming to the 1601 N. Harlem Ave. site in 2020.
“Whatever the grocer is, is fabulous because of how many people are moving into that building,” he said.
With North Avenue’s Restaurant Row seeing new business in 2019, Saviano said he hopes a Greek restaurant might decide the spot for what would have been Pork and Mindy’s would be right for them.
“Greektown downtown, there’s only three Greek restaurants left on Halsted Street,” Saviano said, with other Greek restaurants in Oak Park and Lombard.
More residential properties are also planned in neighboring River Grove.
River Grove Mayor David Guerin said discussions on plans for the former Holy Cross land are ongoing, but other condominiums will open in 2020.
“We’ll have luxury condominiums on Budd Street,” Guerin said. They are scheduled to open in spring 2020.
Guerin said there will also be nine units of luxury condominiums on Grand Avenue in spring 2020 at the site of a former roofing company.
Parks
New parks are also coming to both communities in 2020.
“We are excited about the opening of our new kiddie park,” Guerin said. “It’s a quarter-million [dollar], beautiful addition to River Front Park.”
Coming in spring 2020, Guerin said the accessible park will include a “braille trail,” a history of the forest preserve and bridges.
“It gives the residents and supporters of the Lions Club a visual of where their support is going,” Guerin said.
This park is paid for primarily through grant funding and donations, including $75,000 from the River Grove Lions Club and a $100,000 grant from the Lions Club International Foundation. Some of the funds were raised at the River Grove Lions Club’s annual Steak and Lobster Fest.
A park is also planned at Elmgrove Drive in Elmwood Park, after a local church purchases another property.
“Open space is such a premium in this town. We wanted to open it up for all those young families moving in,” Saviano said. “There will be a splash pad, a bags court, something for all ages.”
Saviano expects families can enjoy the park in the fall of 2020, depending on the timing of a grant for the park. “We had to go down to Springfield to testify on behalf of the grant,” Saviano said. “It’s a pretty intensive process.”
Streets
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Guerin said ongoing street resurfacing is part of River Grove’s long-term plan, and some streets will be resurfaced north of Grand Avenue in 2020.
There will be more green alleys, including near Spruce Street and Rhodes Avenues in the spring of 2020, helped by funding from the Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Guerin said green alleys featuring permeable pavements will reduce flooding risk.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is helping with two River Grove projects.
“We’re going to do a resurfacing of the Grand Avenue bridge, a $1.2 million project, with funding through IDOT,” Guerin said. It will begin in March 2020.
IDOT will also do a resurface and rebuild of River Road this summer.
“They’re both high traffic,” Guerin said. “It’s an in-demand area now.”
Schools
In Elmwood Park, 2020 will see the implementation of projects that were approved by the Elmwood Park School District 401 board in 2019, including a full-day kindergarten option and College and Career Pathways programs for students in grades 6 through 12.
A $55 million referendum will be up for a vote in the March 17, 2020 election.
District 401 Superintendent Nicolas Wade said that in 2020 and the years beyond, life safety projects will keep schools in good shape for the future, while the referendum would make these projects the most “cohesive and effective.”
Elmwood Park Village Manager Paul Volpe and Saviano both mentioned the full-day kindergarten option as something positive. Volpe also mentioned the completion of the Elm Middle School renovation at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.
“Now, we’ll have a true junior high and full-day kindergarten,” Volpe said. Saviano said the full-day kindergarten option will benefit Elmwood Park families.
In 2020, River Grove’s Triton College will continue negotiations with mid-manager employees, who had a strike day in Nov. 2019, seeking retroactive pay from July 1 and a 4% pay raise without additional work hours.
Triton College also has a Workforce Equity Initiative grant, which will provide training to lower-income or underemployed people in specific fields; training programs will take place in 2020, according to the college webpage.
According to a Dec. 17 Triton College press release, music professor Peter Jermihov was nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY Award for Best Choral Performance. The awards show will be held Jan. 26, 2020.
Recreational cannabis (marijuana)
When recreational cannabis, or marijuana, becomes legal in Illinois on January 1st, people 21 and older will be able to purchase it in an Elmwood Park dispensary.
“We anticipate it will be a big success for them, and we, as a village, get a percentage of those sales,” Saviano said. This is through taxes such as a 1% sales tax and a 1% home-rule tax. Taxes will be a total of 5 percent.