A revitalized "Canal Walk" public amenity park will attract shoppers and visitors to live, work and play in Lemont's new downtown.

Illustration by Malcolm Cunningham

Village of Lemont Launches Downtown Renaissance

Marquette Companies and the Village of Lemont held a groundbreaking ceremony on October 6. 2006. for the Lemont Downtown Redevelopment District, one of the first comprehensive "town building" initiatives in Illinois. An innovative public/private partnership was formed nearly 24 months ago with the Chicago-based Marquette Companies to catalyze the transformation of downtown Lemont into a pedestrian-friendly, commercially vibrant downtown village center that serves Lemont residents and the surrounding community. "Our relationship with Marquette has resulted in an extraordinary vision for our under-developed downtown," according to Village Mayor John Piazza. "When completed, the $250 million mixed-use downtown district will feature local and regional retailers, residential lofts and condominiums, office and civic uses as well as tourist attractions along the historic I&M Canal."

"Our objective it to catalyze economic development in downtown Lemont while preserving in historic structures, heritage and character." said Bruno Bottarelli, town builder and managing director of Marquette Companies. "Lemont's new downtown will be a place where people will live. work, shop and play close to home. Across the country, there's a growing demand for a walkabie tnuhtional neighborhood lifestyle, even in the suburb*. Lemon! is now at the forefront of this trend in the Chicago area.

We're thrilled to see all of our hard work come to fruition," commented Gary Holmes, Village manager As the new residential and retail offerings begin, the Village has already commenced construction on extensive public infrastructure improvements designed to benefit the downtown; such as new roads, storm water, sewer, electric utilities and streetscape enhancements "Our new downtown is gaining attention and excitement from Lemont and surrounding communities."

Lemont is well located less than 30 miles southwest of Chicago, and its new transit district features an essential convenience for commuters in the Metra commuter transit stop, walk-able to all areas of the downtown. Train transit has a colorful history dating back to the 1930s when the town played a key role in the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (I&M Canal). At one point, Lemont's population nearly surpassed that of Chicago. However, as commerce moved to the larger Sanitary & Shipping Canal, downtown Lemont faded.

Meanwhile, suburban residential development in the area boomed during the latter half of the 20th century, providing 39.000 predominantly affluent households within a 5-mile radius of the downtown with few options to shop, dine or gather for entertainment. The time for Lemont's Renaissance has finally arrived!

The above article was excerpted from the Lemont Town Building Edition of the Village of Lemont Newsletter. If you would like to read the entire Lemont Town Building newsletter, click here.