To outsiders, it may best be known as that little community among Oak Brook, Elmhurst, Lombard and Addison. But to its residents, it`s an affordable, centrally located, family-oriented haven in the middle of everything.
”I think it is kind of a well-kept secret, this city,” said Villa Park development coordinator Valerie Dehner. ”A lot of people without knowing it will travel through Villa Park on North Avenue or Roosevelt Road, but they won`t realize it. Until you get off those streets and come into the community itself, (you can`t) realize what it has to offer.”
”Sometimes Villa Park gets lost between Lombard and Elmhurst,”
acknowledged village president Joyce Daly.
But this is not a village with an identity crisis. Villa Park is a strong, hearty community, and has been throughout its history.
Before there was a Villa Park, the area was occupied by German farmers in the 1850s and `60s. In 1902 the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin railroad chugged through town for the first time. Modern transportation had come to Villa Park. Several years later, some Chicago developers began to schedule regular Sunday train excursions to the area so Chicagoans could see the rewards of country living. They offered two gifts to tempt potential customers: Each buyer who bought a lot had his choice of 20 apple trees or 200 baby chicks.
The Villa Park subdivision started in 1908, followed by Ardmore in 1910. The two were incorporated and named Ardmore in 1914, but the name was changed by popular vote to Villa Park in 1917.
The biggest boon to Villa Park came when the Wander Co. of Bern, Switzerland, chose Villa Park for its only American plant in 1917. Its main product was a vitamin-fortified chocolate powder that when mixed in milk became one of America`s most popular beverages: Ovaltine.
The then-rural location was ideal for the company because of the large supply of milk and fresh water nearby. The spot was also ideally situated on the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin railroad and near the Chicago Great Western line. The new factory drew many to settle in Villa Park in the 1920s. When the Great Depression hit America, Ovaltine helped its home survive. The company made deposits to the local bank to keep it afloat, gave the product free to local schools and hired only townspeople.
The progressive company was also well known for taking care of its workers. It provided recreational facilities for employees and even had its own band.
The love affair between Ovaltine and Villa Park lasted 68 years before the two were torn apart by corporate consolidation.
”It was a shock when they decided to leave,” said village historian Irene Martin, 79. Ovaltine closed its plant on Dec. 31, 1985. The operation was moved to Minnesota, but it left behind many fond memories in the close-knit community it helped to form.
Some of those memories belong to a young announcer who found a perfect reason to settle in Villa Park in 1962.
”I wanted something in between. I almost went south, I almost went north, but I went straight west and it was the best deal I ever made, because it`s just ideally located,” said Phil Georgeff, who has become a legend at area racetracks. ”It`s a half-hour from Sportsman`s Park and Hawthorne Race Course (in Cicero and Stickney, respectively), a half-hour from Arlington, a half-hour from old Washington Park (a Homewood track that burned down in 1977), and it`s a half-hour from the Loop.”
The village`s location, near the eastern boundary of Du Page County, has turned many on to Villa Park. It`s one mile north of the East-West Tollway
(Interstate Highway 88), two miles west of the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) and 2 1/2 miles west of the Tri-State Tollway (I-294). Interstate Highway 355 (six miles west of town) and the Stevenson Expressway (10 miles south) are within easy driving distance.
And when potential residents visit the ”Garden Village,” they are happy to be greeted by affordable homes.
”The key to our area is first-time home buyers. They can start here perfectly,” said Larry Dean, who is a co-owner of the local Re/Max real estate office. ”Villa Park`s always been a sleeper. It`s a neat town.”
Young professionals, singles and young couples who prefer to make a mortgage payment rather than write a rent check are active buyers in Villa Park.
”Without the first-time buyer, we`re out of business,” said Dean, who has sold real estate in Villa Park for 22 years. ”Because of price range, the recession never affected us. We never had a slow market per se. We have something for every buyer.”
Dean estimates the average home is 30 to 35 years old, but homes up to 80 years old can still be found.
A buyer can choose from a number of styles that include ranches, bungalows, stuccos, Cape Cods and Queen Annes. Prices in the area range from $50,000 for some townhomes to $260,000 for some new single-family homes.
But there`s more to Villa Park than just homes. There are trees, for instance. They seem to be everywhere. The village has received a Tree City USA award for the last five years and has a forestry department to maintain its trees. Two hundred new trees are added annually in a parkway planting program started many years ago.
And there`s more. Daly is proud of improvements made to local roads and sewer projects that have relieved problem flooding areas. Lake Michigan water came to town in May, ending well problems, and this fall the village will install emergency sirens in three locations to warn residents of impending danger. And the community will start a curbside recycling program Saturday.
There`s also plenty to do in town.
If you like museums, you can visit the old train station on Villa Avenue, where the village historical society has an exhibit on houses that were sold through the old Sears catalog and built in Villa Park in the 1920s and early
`30s. Household items that were likely to be found in a new Sears home of that era are also on display.
If you like shopping, retail stores line Roosevelt Road and North Avenue, and the village is home to Villa Oaks shopping center and North Park Mall. It is also near major shopping centers in Oak Brook and Elmhurst.
The Odeum, a 130,000-square-foot sports and exhibition facility, brings a lot of activity into the community. Originally built as the Hat Trick Ice Arena, a three-rink hockey and skating facility, the owners closed up shop about 10 years ago and the building was bought by its builders, the Greco family, who still operate it.
The building is undergoing a $2 million renovation, which includes new showers and locker rooms, new bathrooms and a new banquet hall.
The Odeum estimates it brings 2 million people through its doors every year for a wide range of events, including indoor soccer games, trade shows, professional wrestling and boxing tournaments, dog shows, a haunted house and concerts by musicians such as Alabama and Barry Manilow.
For those who love to spend the summer outdoors, Villa Park has 100 acres of parks, which include softball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts and two pools, and Sugar Creek Golf Course could pose a challenge to most golfers. The village`s best-known public area is the Prairie Path, the 45-mile recreational path that slices through the middle of Villa Park for its entire length along land where the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin railroad used to run.
”It really has become the focal point for our community,” said village manager Wayne Lulay. ”If you look at Villa Park`s sector of it, it`s the nicest maintained section throughout the county. We`ve built a gazebo on the path, put in picnic tables and installed water fountains.
”When (people using the path) come through Villa Park, we want them to be pleasantly surprised. We`re trying to maintain the small-town character that many people are looking for. That`s why we felt the gazebo in the center of town was the type of amenity that people could relate to-the band concerts during the summer, the small-town atmosphere.”
That small-town activism is at work in the citizenry`s involvement with its police department.
”On the whole, our crime level is probably lower than those in a lot of communities,” said Chief Ron Ohlson. ”We`ve got a lot of neighborhood watch programs. We`ve got a seniors program called SALT; it stands for Seniors and Lawmen Together. It`s an ongoing educational program with the seniors on a monthly basis. You`ve got a real active community, where if they see something they call.”
The police also are active with young people. A DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program is implemented in all grade schools, both public and parochial. The department also has a full-time liaison officer at Willowbrook High School.
Its reasonable taxes are another pleasant surprise. The village draws heavily from its large retail base, which grew recently when a Wal-Mart opened July 25 on Ill. Highway 83. Its grand opening is scheduled for Tuesday.
Development coordinator Dehner, who took the job when it was created two years ago, works as a liaison with local businesses.
Among other projects she is currently working on is the new Warning Lites Inc. development at North and Addison Avenues, which includes factory, warehouse and administrative space. The project is a consolidation of the company`s Elmhurst and Addison operations.
”(We`re) trying to market the village as (having) a small-town atmosphere and a great business environment,” she said.
Construction is expected to begin late this year or early next year on a conversion of the old Ovaltine plant into a facility that will include a nursing home, housing for seniors, an upscale restaurant, small shops and a community theater.
The $35 million project is the culmination of five years of planning that was started by a jogger. A former college roommate of Realcom Development Group president Richard Haskell saw the old building while jogging on the Prairie Path and gave him a call.
”He called me and said: `Dick, you`ve got to see this building. I don`t know exactly what it`s good for, but it`s just a neat old building,`
” Haskell said.
Haskell has approached the Sandoz Nutritional Corp., which owns the Ovaltine name, about calling the theater the Ovaltine Playhouse and becoming a benefactor for its troupe.
A courtyard surrounded by small shops ”is designed to bring in the community-at-large, whether they come from the Prairie Path or whether they drive there,” Haskell said. ”It`s designed to foster that community interaction . . . be a focal point of the community.”
The ” said Lulay.
Even with all the new activity, Villa Park appears to be in no danger of losing its small-town charm.
Coming up on the community calendar is the Villa Park Pride Commission`s golf outing at Sugar Creek Aug. 29. For $20, golfers get nine holes of golf, food and drink. The goal of the fundraiser is to collect $1,500 to pay for new Christmas decorations.
