Chicago Street revamp edges closer to reality

The city this year will determine details of its plan to transform Chicago Street, the main street of downtown Joliet.

Plans for a Chicago Street redesign that will include a new downtown plaza have been in the works for five years.

They’re still in the works, but construction is expected to be less than two years away.

The Chicago Street Corridor Plan presented in 2018 after a year of study called for a reengineering of the street away from its current layout for a semi-pedestrian mall with limited street parking.

The new plan called for a straighter street with more parking spaces in front of businesses, sidewalks with room for planters and cafe seating, and even a possible bicycle path in a stretch of the street running between Jefferson and Webster streets.

Added to that is the idea of a plaza across from the Rialto Square Theatre, expanding the existing Van Buren Plaza and adding green space for a park-like setting for downtown events.

“It’s another one of those big projects where we walk through the process,” said city Engineer Lisa Dorothy.

Dorothy was the project manager for the Gateway Center, the project that transformed the city’s transit center with a new train station, boarding platforms and bus station, but is not quite done yet and was first announced in 2010.

The Chicago Street redesign should be quicker than Gateway Center, Dorothy said.

But what gets done still depends on how much the city wants to spend and what kind of grants can be gotten.

“There are a lot of choices to be made that will impact costs,” Dorothy said, noting 2022 is the year those choices will be made.

At the present pace, some preparatory construction including movement of utilities under the street could occur in 2023, Dorothy said.

But 2024 is likely to be the first year for heavy construction on the Chicago Street redesign, Dorothy said. The city has some grant funding that needs to be spent by 2025, so work has to start in 2024, she said.

The plaza proposed by project consultant Gingko Planning and Design in 2018 included a flexible stage for outdoor performances, a “library garden” for children across from the Joliet Public Library, a special pavement design connecting to the Rialto Square Theatre, and space for future large-scale public art.

What goes into the plaza and what decorative features go into Chicago Street are part of the decision process to be done this year, Dorothy said. Downtown business owners will contribute to the process, but the final decision will be made by the mayor and City Council.

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk expressed enthusiasm for the Chicago Street redesign at his State of the City speech earlier this month.

“I think now is the time to move forward on that project,” he told the audience.

At the present pace, some preparatory construction, including movement of utilities under the street, could occur in 2023, Dorothy said.

But 2024 is likely to be the first year for heavy construction on the Chicago Street redesign, Dorothy said. The city has some grant funding that needs to be spent by 2025, so work has to start in 2024, she said.