Copyright Chicago Tribune
The area around Hazel Crest’s Metra station was once the village’s downtown. Village officials said they hope it could be again. “This was originally our downtown area, and for so long it’s been neglected,” said Mayor Sandra Alexander. “It’s time to bring it back up and make it what it was intended to be.” With the help of a grant from the Regional Transportation Authority, the village undertook a study to determine what it needs in order to attract both residents and business. “The oldest subdivision of the village, you may have heard it referred to as Old Harvey or South Harvey, where the village initially kind of started from and then of course we spread it out from there,” said Village Manager Dante Sawyer. “Over time, development went more west and south as the village grew, and so we’re trying to find ways to encourage revitalization in this part of the community.” The RTA grant will fund the creation of an Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Plan for the area, or eTOD. “Ultimately, the project is going to look at creating new housing opportunities for all income levels, really looking at opportunity sites that surround the Metra station,” said Robert Morris, an analyst with RTA. The study area is roughly bounded by Dixie Highway to the west, Park Avenue and the Hazel Crest Metra stop to the east, 167th Street to the north and 171st Street to the south. It overlaps with the Hazel Crest Creative Arts District, where the village is in the process of remodeling a formerly vacant retail space into a creative arts center. “It’s really exciting for us to be able to come here and capitalize on the momentum that they have from creating this arts district,” Morris said. “They’re trying to make some incubator arts spaces there to really, really activate the community.” Village officials said they hope encouraging more density around the station will draw in more businesses. “We’re trying to see different strategies, eTOD, from leveraging the arts, the creative arts district, all the ways to help bring people, density and then commerce,” Sawyer said. The first phase of the plan is all about gathering public opinion. The village hosted an open house Tuesday to explain the project and gather input on questions such as what type of housing Hazel Crest most needs and what parts of the study area they’d most like to see changed. The plan creation is anticipated to take more than a year, with multiple opportunities for public feedback. “It’s just trying to collect input on issues and opportunities,” said Daniel Grove, a project manager with Kimley-Horn, one of the consulting agencies. “Where are things that can be improved? Where are things that should be protected and highlighted?” Grove said improving 170th Street is likely to be a priority. “You’ve got 170th, which is really the closest thing to a traditional downtown walkable street going into the train station,” Grove said. “So this has a lot of opportunity.” Ahead of the first open house, the various leaders of the project walked the route down 170th Street between the Metra stop and the Creative Arts Center, which is located at the intersection with Dixie Highway. “We actually walked from here all the way down to the Metra station with our whole group, and we had observations, and we made notes,” Morris said. Suggestions written down by residents for along 170th Street included a grocery store, a YMCA and a coffee shop. “(The east side of town) is the oldest, it’s the one that needs attention the worst,” said resident Karl Persons. “We need to develop a sales tax base.” Alexander, who has lived in Hazel Crest for 27 years, said she’s excited to see what the project brings for the village. “It’s good to see that we’re reinvesting in this side of our town,” said Alexander. “I’m really excited to see it all come together.” elewis@chicagotribune.com
