What happens if the Oak Park Village Board stops issuing “special use permits” with such frequency? In the case of the Albion project at Forest and Lake — the former Lytton’s site — what if the project is a no-go because the developer didn’t get a special use permit to build what he wants and feels he needs to make money? That is, what if he is denied permission to build 18 stories and only allowed 8 stories by the current zoning, and he walks away to find a project more suited to his investment ideas?
It’s not our fault or his fault that the village board ignored the visionary suggestion of the Crandall Arambula (CA) Comprehensive Plan Revision in 2005, to make a public square on the Lytton’s site on the northwest corner of Forest and Lake and that there is fallout now from that decision.
The board ignored the enhancement idea, but went whole hog on the idea to demolish 22 buildings (without consulting owners) in Downtown Oak Park. They went on to do the most extensive destruction ever to our history-rich downtown. In the process, they created the controversy (2008-2009) of unfair and illegal treatment in one highly publicized case, the Garcia family-owned Los Casadores on Lake Street, threatening eminent domain against a family whose father/founder had recently been diagnosed with cancer (https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-12601B9D1C5BFE98.html). Boards also ignored the CA suggestion that the height of buildings should be no higher than the former Marshall Field building. They ignored at least two important recommendations of a study they paid $225,000 to have done by a firm that they chose.
For our new board, and a new generation of younger activist residents who campaigned on a promise of transparency and participatory democracy, with a situation of no developer and no project, what would have to be done to go back and create the plaza once proposed in the revised Comprehensive Plan once proposed for Downtown Oak Park and the adjoining Frank Lloyd Wright National Historic District at the Lytton’s site?
First, it would be necessary to find a benefactor and acquire the land. This is one option if there is no possibility of public funds. It is not hard to find philanthropic foundations whose missions are to do projects in the public interest. I have sent inquires to two such organizations to find out how that works.
In addition to contacting those foundations, I contacted two agencies whose missions are dedicated to creating public spaces benefiting the quality of life in communities all over the world.
On April 5, I got a call from Jamie Simone in the Chicago office of The Trust for Public Land (www.tpl.org), an organization based in San Francisco. I emailed the San Francisco headquarters asking for information about their work. Of course, they don’t get involved in the public or political controversies of the projects, but they will help and consult if asked and they will help with acquisition of land and serve as a “convenience buyer” and help with the process when there is a public entity to buy the land.
In addition, the Project for Public Spaces (www.pps.org) in NYC also responded to my inquiry email. Both organizations are amazing and inspiring. To learn more about public spaces and placemaking, look at their websites, see their work. PPS’s link on “Placemaking: 101” details considerations and intentional choice involved in creating successful public spaces.
These are resources with the expertise to create a public plaza on the Lytton’s site adjacent to Downtown Oak Park, Austin Gardens and the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District.