Arlington Heights has become synonymous with unceasing speculation about a certain NFL team, but anyone familiar with the northwest suburbs can attest that the village has made a success of its downtown district at a time when so many community hubs have hollowed out.
In the doldrums of COVID, when we were all wondering whether we’d ever get back to normal, Arlington Heights emerged as an innovator in getting people back out and about in their central commercial district. Launched was “Arlington Alfresco,” turning a portion of the village — comprising the several-block region south of the Metra stop — into a pedestrian-oriented gathering space bounded by fences and filled with families and young people and singles alike who want to enjoy a good meal and perhaps an ice cream after dinner. When Alfresco opens, the streets close to car traffic, and pedestrians have free rein to walk side by side or arm in arm.
That’s the audience the village is now hoping to entice downtown for a bit longer with the creation of a new “social district” that’s working its way through the approval process.
Essentially, adults can take their drinks to the streets at Alfresco.
The Village Board has approved moving forward with the pilot. The concept introduces a new open consumption area that would allow patrons to purchase alcoholic beverages from participating businesses and take them around Alfresco. Participating imbibers would be given special cups and wristbands.
And why not? Public spaces should be used more flexibly and creatively, especially if it can be done safely.
Structurally, downtown Arlington Heights offers the perfect venue for such a setup, having already blocked off much of its downtown for Alfresco during the warmer months. Rather than being a permanent fixture, this summer’s planned “social district” is a test run, and would operate as a pilot program running from roughly August through early October. The village is still finalizing legal updates to its local liquor code, and is expected to vote July 6 to officially permit to-go drinks and open containers in designated areas, according to the Tribune-owned Daily Herald
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.The village did its research, studying similar districts nearby and regionally. In Illinois, Cary, Crystal Lake and Rockford were among the other localities with comparable social districts, and nearby St. Joseph and Saugatuck in Michigan — more touristy destinations — were also inspirations for Arlington Heights.
Some of these peers have seasonal operating hours extending to 11 p.m., but Arlington Heights opted to be more conservative, landing on a relatively narrow window — 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, within the Arlington Alfresco boundaries. That suggests village leaders are not trying to create a nightlife district, but instead are trying to make an already-successful downtown a more active and competitive place.
The central question is whether a mature suburban downtown can capture the economic benefits of a more flexible public venue without sacrificing the order, cleanliness and family-friendly character that made it successful in the first place. The pilot program is essentially a test of that proposition.
And in our view, this is less a story about alcohol than the need for well-established suburbs to evolve. We appreciate municipal officeholders taking chances and trying new things. Arlington Heights officials referred to this social district as a “placemaking” tool, and that makes sense as a way to encourage people to spend more time in a high-impact area. Arlington Heights clearly wants to establish itself as a premier downtown experience, and is well on its way to doing so already, drawing visitors from surrounding suburbs like Wheeling and Rolling Meadows thanks to an abundance of dining, shopping and entertainment options, such as the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, all in one spot.
There’s something to be said for being ahead of the curve. If it succeeds, we suspect other suburbs will follow suit. And if it doesn’t, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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