Lincolnshire looks for an identity

Lincolnshire officials want to spruce up the village's entryways and the scenery along its busiest roads -- and they've chosen a Chicago firm to start the job.

The village board on Monday selected Wolff Landscape Architecture to develop a framework plan for aesthetic improvements they hope will give the village, as Trustee David Saltiel put it, a visual identity.

"I want a driver to go, 'Oh my God, I'm in Lincolnshire,'" Saltiel said. "If we do this properly, this improvement sets the identity of the village from border to border."

Prominent corridors such as Milwaukee Avenue, Half Day Road and Aptakisic Road are among those that could be improved. Decorative shrubs, trees, manmade accent pieces, landmarks, sculptures and signs are among the options that could be part of the plan, Village Administrator Bob Irvin said.

For Saltiel, the project is about more than "Welcome to Lincolnshire" signs.

"This is about visual corridors that create a sense of place," he said.

Wolff likely will deliver the plan in five or six months and the board could vote on it then, Irvin said. If approved, implementation of early phases could begin in a year.

The entire project likely would take several years, Irvin said.

The contract with Wolff hasn't been finalized yet, but Irvin said the company will be paid an estimated $57,600 for the task.

Firm owner Ted Wolff declined to comment on the assignment.

Wolff's prior projects include the memorial to fallen Chicago police officers, Wheeling's prominent Friendship Park, a park in downtown Arlington Heights and transportation-corridor improvement designs in Mount Prospect.

Information about these and other Wolff undertakings can be found at the firm's Web site, www.wolfflandscape.com.