Gurnee's East Grand plan making progress

Some of the $100,000 the Gurnee village board allocated to enhance and promote the town's East Grand Avenue business corridor has paid for new landscaping, while officials eye other improvements for next year, according to village staff and business leaders.

The plan approved by the village board two months ago called for using most of the money to install flowers and plants along East Grand from Magnolia Avenue to Boulevard View Street.

Ellen Dean, the village's economic development director, said the planting is done and the flowers took to the soil nicely. The landscaping was done beyond the sidewalk as protection from salt and other road debris that could kill the plants.

"The planting went all in the way we expected and next spring it should be blooming," Dean said of the perennials.

Officials have decided to use a portion of the money next year to fill in areas of unsightly gravel that can be found at points along the road, she said.

Much of the landscaping has been done on privately owned land. The village hopes it will harvest goodwill from business owners and encourage them to invest further into their properties.

Tim Ammons, a manager of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 3545 Grand Ave., said he thinks the new plants are gorgeous and appreciates the village's efforts.

"It's fair to say that (East Grand) has been an untouched area for some time," Ammons said of the at times overlooked stretch of businesses east of Route 41. "We're trying to keep things new and fresh and get the word out that East Grand is still here."

Ammons said it is unfortunate the work is being done at a time when local traffic has been snarled by a nearby tollway project, which he believes has kept some people away. That work is aimed at eliminating dangerous traffic backups on I-94 at the Grand Avenue interchange in Gurnee. It's scheduled to be complete in spring 2018.

"Gurnee keeps going past 41, remember that," Ammons said. "Unfortunately, everyone sees the construction and they want to forget that."

One percent of the $100,000 is being used for the East "Grand" Giveaway, a weekly sweepstakes that gives $50 per week to customers of East Grand stores for the final 20 weeks of 2017. Customers can enter by filling out tickets at participating East Grand businesses.

The raffle began at Gurnee Days. Dean said East Grand businesses handed out hundreds of fliers about the raffle and coupons.

The first winner in the East "Grand" Giveaway was Cathy Gustavson, who filled out a ticket at the Gurnee Garden Center.