Village Takes Step to Start Planning Triangle Architecture

Orland Park took another step toward starting to build what could become the Main Street Triangle development during Monday night's board meeting.

The village board voted in favor of drawing $300,000 from the Main Street Triangle TIF Fund to pay in advance for architecture and engineering services for phase-one of the long-debated Triangle development. Village trustees and staff have said that talks with a developer continue, though an agreement to develop the property hasn't been made.

If a redevelopment agreement is reached, the $300,000 will go towards the overall cost of the project. If not, the village will be entitled to ownership of all related work. The agreement discussed Monday night for architecture and engineering allows work to continue toward producing 50 percent of the designs, drawings and plans for the full first phase.

The Main Street Triangle is Orland Park's bid to create a walkable city center around the train station, featuring shops, offices, restaurants and condominiums on land between the Southwest Metra track, LaGrange Road and 143rd Street. The project dates back to 2004, but has been mired in controversy since the village began pursuing the in 2006.

Orland Park has been in litigation with the Orland Plaza property owner, as well as tenants who rent , over how much money the owner and tenants are entitled to after the village won an eminent domain lawsuit last year for the land.

The village now only wants to buy a portion of the plaza for $2.9 million to extend Ravinia and Jefferson avenues, and to create a street that connects the two. Mayor Dan McLaughlin recently said negotiations continue, but no agreement on a settlement has been reached between the village, landowner and tenants.

Orland Park Village Manager Paul Grimes said after Monday night's meeting that although the architecture and engineering will encompass the entire first phase of the proposed project, including a pedestrian bridge across LaGrange Road, the 50 percent benchmark will allow the village to get more accurate cost estimates so that bidding for construction can begin.

“This is such a large project that we need to get the ball rolling on the architecture to get better estimates,” said Grimes. He also said that if even an agreement is not reached, the village will have ownership of the work and will not have to redo the architecture.

Trustee Bernard Murphy offered the lone dissenting vote.

Few residents were in attendance and no one commented on the issue.

Grimes also said that no agreement has yet been reached in the matter surrounding Orland Plaza tenants.

In executive session the board also approved an agreement to give IDOT property to continue with the widening of 143rd Street along the Orland Crossing Shopping Center at the intersection with LaGrange Road.

Correction: The original story incorrectly reported the trustee who voted against the architechture and engineering agreement. Trustee Bernard Murphy offered the single vote against the agreement. Patch regrets the error.