The Joliet City Center Partnership and the City of Joliet have asked ULI Chicago and the Campaign for Sensible Growth to convene a technical assistance panel to help them achieve redevelopment goals for the city’s downtown area. A significant investment was made in a City Center Plan over a decade ago to stimulate economic vitality, yet the downtown still faces challenges: retail vacancies, negative public perceptions, and demand for quality affordable housing.
The Joliet City Center Partnership and the City of
Joliet have asked ULI Chicago and the Campaign for Sensible Growth to convene a
technical assistance panel to help them achieve redevelopment goals for the
city’s downtown area.
A significant
investment was made in a City Center Plan over a decade ago to stimulate
economic vitality, yet the downtown still faces challenges: retail vacancies,
negative public perceptions, and demand for quality affordable housing.
The city’s goals include new market rate housing
developments, riverfront commercial and housing developments, Metra and Pace
commuter opportunities, a major hotel/convention/meeting space project, a
marina, re-use of a former USX steel mill, and expansion of the Collins Street
Commercial corridor.
Questions posed by the city to the ULI panel
include:
What is the appropriate
retail market and niche for Joliet’s City Center?
What infrastructure improvements will be
needed to improve traffic patterns, parking, etc. to meet the market and
community’s needs?
What role can
the growth of Latino businesses play in the redevelopment strategy for the
downtown?
The
technical assistance panel, chaired by James Matanky,
principal
,
Matanky Real Estate,
will meet on May 19 and 20, 2004. The
panel — ULI Chicago volunteer professionals from real estate, planning
and development — will spend two days on site, touring the study area and
meeting with community representatives and Joliet officials. A
public presentation of the panel’s findings
and recommendations will be held at on Thursday, May 20 at 3:00 p.m. at
the Renaissance Center, 214 North Ottawa Street, Joliet.
The Urban Land Institute is a national, nonprofit
education and research organization that is supported by its members.
Its mission is to provide responsible
leadership on land use issues to enhance the total environment.
ULI Chicago consists of more than 800
members working in the Chicago region in real estate and development-related
disciplines.
The Technical
Assistance Program has facilitated solutions to complex land use challenges in
many communities that have requested ULI’s expertise and
guidance.
The
Campaign for Sensible Growth is an action-oriented coalition
of nearly 200 government, civic and business leaders in northeastern Illinois’
six counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will) working to
promote economic development while preserving open space, minimizing the need
for costly new infrastructure and improving the livability of our
communities.
WHAT
Technical Assistance Panel in Joliet
WHEN
Members of the press are invited to the panel’s final presentation to the
community at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 20, 2004.
WHERE
Renaissance Center, 214 North Ottawa Street, Joliet
WHO
ULI Chicago/Campaign for Sensible Growth
For more information, or to schedule an interview,
contact Scott
Goldstein, chair, ULI Chicago Public Policy Committee at (312) 863-6003; or
Cindy McSherry
,
District Council coordinator, ULI Chicago at
(773)
549-4972.