For Orland Park Village Board member John Lawler, Monday’s approval of a plan to build out a downtown area northwest of LaGrange Road and 143rd Street has been a long time coming.
“This has been a long-term project that’s been hanging around for 20 years, and it’s time to get it going and finish it,” Lawler said during at Monday night’s meeting. “It’s time to put the shovel in the ground and deliver this thing.”
The board voted in favor of an updated redevelopment agreement with developer Edwards Realty along with a letter of intent from the University of Chicago Medical Center to add a three- to four-story musculoskeletal center to its existing campus.
Board members Cynthia Katsenes and William Healy voted against the project after asking questions about its financing. Both served on the board when former Mayor Keith Pekau presented his $33 million plan for the downtown, which included 37,000 square feet of office space that is not included in Mayor Jim Dodge’s proposal.
Under the updated redevelopment agreement, the village’s funding obligation is capped at $27.8 million.
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 an Oktoberfest and Christmas/holiday market. An ice rink must also be included as part of the redevelopment agreement.
Construction of the park is expected to begin by the end of this summer, so it is ready to host events in 2027.
Despite ultimately supporting the plan, board member Michael Milani asked whether residents of Ninety7Fifty on the Park apartments were aware the village planned to construct a bandshell below their windows, in some cases.
Village Manager George Koczwara said the village moved the bandshell from its location in the original redevelopment plan to the southwest corner of the park to aim the sound away from the apartments.
“Having the bandshell right outside, it’s still going to be noisy, even though it’s pointed the other way,” Milani said.
Katsenes raised concerns about the village’s returns on the University of Chicago Medical Center’s 25-year lease of a 1.5-acre site, as the existing downtown tax increment financing district prevents property tax increases for the nonprofit.
In a TIF district, property taxes for all government bodies are frozen at the time the TIF is created, and any increase due to higher property values, the increment, is used to pay for improvements or incentives.
The village in October dissolved its Main Street Triangle TIF district while keeping one with similar boundaries and intends to add another TIF district that aims to spur development north of 143rd Street, from LaGrange Road to John Humphrey Drive.
“The land lease amount is great, but then it’s offset by the taxes that you’re not getting, if we’re looking at it purely economically,” Katsenes said. “But U. of C. is a wonderful addition to the village, world-class physicians and staff, and I’m sure they’ll serve a growing population here in Orland.”
The size of the new musculoskeletal building at the northwest corner of 143rd Street and LaGrange Road will range from 80,000 to 120,000 square feet. The ground rent will generate $10.3 million over the 25-year lease, according to the village, while providing between 3,000 and 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
The village also expects to receive $322,500 per year, or $125 per parking space per month, from the medical center’s lease of 215 parking garage spaces. The funds will offset the construction and operations of Heroes Park at the center of the downtown district as well as other development debt, the village said.
Under the village plan, the University of Chicago Medical Center will maintain exclusive use of its existing 547-space parking garage from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, opening up to the public on evenings and weekends. A separate 207-stall surface lot will also be available for public use during the same hours.
The medical center may buy the parking structure in the future, continuing similar cost-sharing with the village and public access hours.
The board also voted to commission a study to determine the viability of 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.
Edwards Realty President Ramzi Hassan, agreeing with the village manager, said the plan is “a win-win-win for everybody.”
“The whole point of the downtown is not to just have businesses that could be anywhere,” Hassan said. “They have to be special to the community, they have to have character. And we think there’s a very, very robust arts and entertainment culture in Orland Park.”
“We have to take the lead in making these things come to fruition,” he said, rather than wait for private investment.
The village aims to draw traffic through recognizable regional anchors, which will in turn help small businesses succeed in the area.
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 this weekend, Dodge said.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
