Clarendon Hills has scheduled an open house to introduce the draft Clarendon Hills Downtown Improvement Plan and give the community an opportunity to review proposed improvements and design concepts.

The open house is scheduled from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Feb. 5 at Community Presbyterian Church of Clarendon Hills, 39 N. Prospect Ave. The goal of the open house is to gain the community’s insight about key topic areas and the proposed future development in the village’s downtown, said Mera Johnson, assistant village manager.

“Participants can drop in, ask questions, and share feedback with the project team and village staff before the Downtown Improvement Plan is finalized,” she said.

Following the open house, the project team will prepare the final Downtown Improvement Plan, which will be presented to the Village Board, Johnson said. The plan was created by consultant Houseal Lavigne, which was hired by the village.

The open house comes after a community survey and meetings in October and November to gather public input.

“Per the scope of work, (Houseal Lavigne was) to gather feedback from the workshops, the community survey, business owners’ workshop, meetings with department heads and their own expertise and urban planning skills,” Johnson said. ‘The entire process as a whole was an opportunity for the community to provide feedback. This open house is also an opportunity to provide feedback.”

Discussion about the future of downtown Clarendon Hills has, at times, been rather controversial, as some residents have been very outspoken against the possible addition of a downtown plaza on Prospect Avenue.

The plaza would be between Railroad and Park avenues and would include the elimination of the right-turn lane, or slip lane, from southbound Prospect onto Park. That turn lane now is part of what the village calls the Sloan Triangle, an area that would become a large part of the plaza and used for gatherings.

However, while a plaza could be part of changes to the downtown, the study has been about the entire downtown area and not about a plaza, village President Eric Tech previously said.

“There are a lot of different views on how we want to use our downtown,” he said. “We’re taking a step back and looking at what we’re trying to achieve here.”

The plan really seeks to determine what residents want the village’s downtown to look like, Johnson said.

“We’re looking at changes that we can make to have the things we need to efficiently do the events we have planned, and what are our future needs,” she added. “In 30 years, what will our children say about our downtown?

“The plan is to look at everything holistically — outdoor dining, events, traffic, parking, the alleys. Railroad (Avenue) and Ann (Street), pedestrian friendliness, way-finding signs. What improvements can the village do?”

Johnson said if a particular concept is chosen, further research on budget, detailed plan sets and a timeline would have to be nailed down.

“The plan would be to get the final plan to the Village Board for consideration as soon as possible,” she said, adding that she is anticipating the March 16 board meeting, or possibly a special meeting for additional discussion.

Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/clarendon-hills-downtown-open-house/