The village-led face-lift of downtown Glencoe’s Tudor Court has earned some local recognition through an award from the American Public Works Association.
The village announced earlier this month project on the nearly 500-foot Tudor Court, has been tabbed as the APWA’s Chicago Metro Chapter Suburban Branch Public Works Project in the transportation category of projects that cost less than five million dollars.
“It’s a nice recognition of the collaborative effort that resulted in more than just a standard street improvement for Tudor Court,” Glencoe Public Works Director David Mau said.
The award comes almost a decade after the village’s planning commission started an inward examination of Glencoe’s downtown leading to the 2016 adoption of a plan titled the Downtown Tune-Up where a series of suggestions were made to enhance the area.
With the newly-constructed Writers Theatre in place, the village worked with both an engineering and a separate landscape architectural firm on improving a dilapidated Tudor Court.
“It was the one remaining downtown street that we had not addressed with streetscape improvements as we had with all the other streets in the early 2000s,” Mau recalled.
Despite the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, construction began in April 2020 and completed in December of that year in a project that ultimately cost the village about $1.6 million.
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The improvements included closing the southern end of the nearby Glencoe Drive, creating a cul-de-sac and thus supplying more green space, seating and a reconfiguration of the parking.
Clay brick pavers were reused and planter curbs, specialty benches and other furnishings were installed along with LED lighting and a new midblock cross walk.
Today, on the north side of Tudor Court, there is green space on both sides of Writers Theatre with individual businesses on the south side.
“While this project is confined to one block in our downtown, it does show some innovation in terms of design and construction,” Mau said.
APWA Suburban Branch Award Committee Co-Chairman Matt Cesario said there were multiple applications for the award but his group thought highly of the enhancements to both Tudor Court and the pedestrian accommodations plus the location of the improvements.
While some businesses have started and later ceased operations, Mau said today all of the retail spaces are currently filled and additional changes could be in the offing.
“It wouldn’t surprise me in the future to see some rethinking of their space in more totality. Multiple store fronts could be assembled and you might be able to introduce a new restaurant of some kind on Tudor,” he said.
The APWA awards ceremony is scheduled for January 25.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.