It is a deteriorating strip of pavement that begins at a small auto sales lot and a notorious railroad crossing and ends at a cat shelter and a shuttered gas station. And it doesn’t get a whole lot more charming at points in between.
Lombard planners said St. Charles Road from Grace Street east to Westmore-Meyers Road has slipped in appearance and economic viability, looking like it decided not to make the trip when the village headed off into the latter parts of the 20th Century. But all that may change soon if those plotting for the thoroughfare’s recovery have their way.
The corridor that progress forgot will be the target of a major study, to be launched shortly when an ad hoc committee of residents, representatives of government agencies, Village Board members, developers, business owners, a real estate agent and a banker, meets for the first time.
“The first thing we need to do is figure out exactly what types of land uses we want there; it’s a very visible corridor,” Lombard senior planner Theresa Koehler said. “Some of the uses there are marginal and can be improved upon at least in terms of landscaping. It’s just not an attractive entryway into the village of Lombard.”
Planners would like to see the area become a pedestrian-oriented extension of the downtown area. David Sundland, planner in Lombard’s planning services division, said he pictures the corridor becoming lined with traditional retail stores in a “more modern version” of Main Street.
“The area has a lot of really small pieces, so it’s hard to get any really substantial development,” he said. “We’re not looking to extend this to the big-box retailers or create strip centers.”
But business and property owners on St. Charles Road have resisted the notion that their district is one the village should be pushing to shape up, saying there is a place in every community for auto repair shops, junkyards and other businesses sometimes seen as undesirable.
One property owner who did not want to be identified said he hoped Lombard would go very slow with the study and that the aim would be to help local businesses instead of scaring them.
“Every place can’t be an Italian restaurant or a sidewalk cafe,” he said.
Carol Nofsinger, of Nofsinger Auto Repair Inc. at 555 E. St. Charles Rd., said the village always had done a good job of keeping area businesses informed about pending projects, including planned repair work on St. Charles. But she said she had heard little about the study the village is preparing to start.
Nofsinger said she would be very eager to learn more about what it would mean for her business and the businesses of her neighbors. She said she had a hard time believing Lombard would seek to remove most of the businesses that line the street from the corridor in the name of redevelopment.
Koehler said village staff members already had organized initial data and maps of the area and had established goals for the soon-to-be-appointed committee.
Objectives include aiming for cohesive development by consolidating lots and eliminating some curb cuts, adding to buffering and screening, establishing a “sense of place” that encourages commercial and economic health, identifying “inappropriate uses” and working to discourage and eliminate them, and making the area safer for pedestrians.
Planners said more than two dozen applications from people who would like to be on the committee already had been submitted. And Koehler said St. Charles Road business and property owners had been fairly supportive, even though the village had not ruled out condemnations in its effort to improve the area. Creation of a tax-increment financing district and rezoning are possible tools for the redevelopment.
Koehler said Lombard realizes its time line for the work is somewhat ambitious. A final report is expected to be delivered to the Village Board by year’s end. Staff members said they were optimistic they would be able to meet their goals and oversee the creation of a practical plan.
“I think we will be able to implement it,” Koehler said. “It’s not something that will happen overnight, but in the next 5 to 10 years I think we’ll see some real results.”
One key area of the study will center on the troublesome intersection of Grace Street and St. Charles Road. Sundland said the railroad crossing is known around the area as a headache.
In the current configuration, the two roads share lanes as they come together and cross the busy set of tracks. Sundland said the committee would look to reduce delays and improve traffic flow by either recommending the addition of lanes at the crossing or even looking at building an underpass.
But no matter what the committee’s recommendations are, Sundland agreed the chances of implementation are good. He said the fact the study is being coordinated by Lombard staff and not an outside consultant has given a “sense of ownership” of the plans.
And Koehler said residents should expect to see more such analyses as the village moves ever closer to being built to capacity.
“The fact is, in the next few years, most of the vacant land here will be gone,” she said. “Lombard is starting to be faced primarily with redevelopment.”
