First phase of Schaumburg's 90 North Park at Veridian development nears completion
The first phase of Schaumburg's 12-acre, urban-style 90 North Park on the Veridian development is nearing completion this fall, though a dedication ceremony is being held back until the spring.
Supply-chain issues have delayed things a few months, but the nine hammocks in the hammock grove are now in place and a few accompanying elements like decorative windmills are expected to arrive soon.
"That's really the last thing that needs to be done apart from some minor seeding," said Schaumburg Landscape & Design Planner Todd Wenger.
The approximately $2.3 million construction project represents a significant public investment in the transformation of the former Motorola Solutions corporate campus at the southwest corner of Algonquin and Meacham roads. When complete, the 225-acre, mixed-use Veridian development will include housing, offices, retail space, restaurants and entertainment venues.
The first phase of the park creates space for passive recreation. Later phases could include elements such as a large outdoor performance venue, a sculpture garden and a winter ice rink.
Early descriptions likened the area to a scaled-down Millennium Park for the suburbs.
The evolution of the park may be continuous to keep in step with demands driven by the ongoing private development around it, Wenger said.
An important component of that accompanying development is the proposed mixed-use area called The District, which is under review by the village's planning staff, he added. As such, amenities for phase two of the park are being designed in hopes of approval for construction next year, Wenger said.
There may be future construction on the park that temporarily disrupts the use of certain parts, but the overall site is so large that there probably always will be some areas that visitors can use, he said.
A forthcoming element that's between phases one and two is a shared street on the west side of the park that could be occasionally closed down to host special events. A parking area, the capacity of which is still being determined, would be tied to that.
The village's funding for the park comes from a tax-increment financing (TIF) district along Algonquin Road created to encourage redevelopment on both sides of Meacham Road.
A TIF district works by freezing the annual property taxes local governments receive at the level of the first year. As improving properties' values and taxes rise, the incremental increase goes to a municipally held fund to pay for public improvements.
TIF districts expire after 23 years or when all their costs have been paid off, whichever comes first.