2018 OP Summer Newsletter

LETTER FROM THE VILLAGE BOARD

DOWNTOWN ORLAND PARK PARCELS The village sought and received proposals for the remaining Downtown Orland Park parcels. Two developers were chosen to present proposals for the remaining parcels. A committee of five, including Trustee Ruzich and Mayor Pekau, will make a recommendation to the entire Village Board who will decide which proposal to select. After selection, the chosen developer will begin to develop the remaining parcels. MODERN BUSINESS FEATURES ORLAND PARK Modern Business is working in cooperation with the village and its sponsors to create a five minute segment for its show featuring Orland Park and all that the community offers. A film crew was in town in mid-July to record different areas of the village and interview several people. Thank you to the companies that helped bring Modern Business to Orland Park --- Edwards Realty, Horton Insurance and the University of Chicago. We look forward to seeing this program on Fox Business, Fox 32 and ABC. ORLAND SQUARE Texas de Brazil, an all you can eat Brazilian steakhouse, is slated to open in Orland Square this year. Watch the local media and the village’s social media outlets for details on this opening and other exciting announcements about Orland Square expected this summer and fall. Please visit www.orlandpark.org for up to date information on upcoming board meetings as well as village-related happenings.

The village’s summer events and programs are in full swing and we hope that everyone is able to enjoy some of them. It’s great to come together as a community to celebrate all that makes Orland Park great. We want to share some updates so everyone knows what’s happening in the village. Thank you to the village staff who work very hard to make Orland Park the premier community that it is. Local government is closer to residents than any other as the village provides many of your daily services --- utilities, streets, parks, recreation programs, public safety and more. We’re very proud of the services that the village employees provide. IDOT’S 159TH STREET IMPROVEMENTS At a recent meeting that the village coordinated, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) indicated that 159th Street from Ravinia Avenue to Will-Cook Road is scheduled to have four lanes open in December. Orland Park is also lobbying the state to improve other state roads in the village but these projects are currently unfunded. CREATE PROJECT APPROVED It’s exciting to report that the funding for the CREATE Project has been approved. This is a proposed 75th Street flyover bridge to expand train service to Chicago for the southwest suburbs. Metra has had a hard time servicing the area because of the freight lines at 75th Street. The recently approved project will build the first two phases (of four) that will bypass the freight lines to connect to the Rock Island District Metra line that ends at Chicago’s LaSalle Street Station. We’re hoping that we’ll see some progress in the coming year. CHICAGO SOUTHLAND INTERSTATE ALLIANCE As you may have heard, we’ve created the Chicago Southland Interstate Alliance (CSIA) between Orland Park, Tinley Park and Mokena. Developing the I-80 Corridor requires the cooperation of our neighbors and our three towns are now working together to make this happen. CSIA was featured at the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce breakfast and we’re looking forward to joining forces to market the region.

Sincerely, Orland Park Village Board

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WWW.ORLANDPARK.ORG | SUMMER 2018 |