Orland Park’s updated plans for a downtown area northwest of LaGrange Road and 143rd Street include an expanded University of Chicago Medical Center and a performing arts center.
The Village Board will discuss and vote on a redevelopment agreement Monday night with Edwards Realty Group, which has worked with the village on the downtown project for several years. The developer previously presented plans for more than 140,000 square feet of commercial and office space and a larger park in the center of the site, which benefits from tax increment financing.
The proposal by Mayor Jim Dodge administration includes adding a three or four-story musculoskeletal center to the existing University of Chicago Medical Center campus, ranging from 80,000 to 120,000 square feet, according to the hospital’s letter of intent provided by the village.
The medical center plans to initially lease 3,000 to 9,000 square feet of ground level retail space in the building, maintaining the right to use that space once the lease expires and to construct another healthcare building on parking lot land north of the existing medical center.
Dodge said bringing more people into the downtown area through an additional healthcare center will help upcoming restaurants and retail thrive during typical work hours.
“We always aspired in the village, for many years, to have better paying jobs and kind of a higher tech office space type of economy, not just strictly restaurants and retail,” Dodge said. “And so University of Chicago made the investment with us years ago in that center, and they were interested in expanding, and it just made perfect sense to us as a complementary use.”
Under the village plan, the University of Chicago Medical Center will maintain exclusive use of the existing 547-space parking garage from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, opening up to the public on evenings and weekends.
Dodge said the village will study a performing arts center as another potential anchor, with the redevelopment agreement requiring the village to decide whether to pursue the project within three years. He said he wanted to set an expiration date on the project so to “not drag this out forever and take 20 years making the decision.”
“Unlike Centennial Park West, we want to build the business plan before you build this asset,” Dodge, who has been critical of village spending on the 15609 Park Station Blvd. concert venue, said.
The proposed downtown district is often referred to as the Main Street Triangle because of the 27-acre property’s shape. Its first tenant, a Weber Grill restaurant, is expected to open at the southwest corner of LaGrange and 142nd Street later this year.
Under the redevelopment agreement, the village’s funding obligation is capped at $27.8 million. Dodge said he prioritized lowering the debt the village would need to take on for the project, from $33 million under former Mayor Keith Pekau.
Dodge said the village will seek general obligation bonds gradually, as development progresses.
The village will completely fund construction and maintenance of Heroes Park, which Dodge hopes will host concerts at a bandshell along with events such as a local Oktoberfest and Christmas/holiday market. An ice rink must be included as part of the redevelopment agreement.
“I think that park is going to be a very central amenity and supportive of the success of the restaurants,” Dodge said.
Dodge did not confirm an exact timeline for the park’s construction but said if the village begins construction soon, it could be ready to use next year.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
