Mount Prospect’s timely arrival: Officials dedicate new clock tower at village gateway

Two years ago, anyone passing by a crowded auto repair shop packed with cars in various states of disrepair would have found it difficult to imagine the property’s transformation into a carefully landscaped urban gateway.

But that was then, and this is now.

Mount Prospect officials gathered Tuesday at what is now Central Gateway Plaza at Central Road and Northwest Highway, an area covered by trees, shrubs, native plantings, pedestrian lighting, public parking and decorative brick walkways, for the dedication of a new clock tower on the site.

The village purchased the property for $800,000. It then worked on turning an eyesore into a public asset, a process that involved environmental remediation and some creative thinking, Mayor Paul Hoefert said.

The nearly $1.1 million construction cost was drawn from Tax Increment Financing funds. Included in that was $259,650 for the clock tower provided by the Cincinnati-based Verdin Co.

Hoefert told the crowd while the clock tower is new, the idea behind it is timeless.

“Communities need places that help us tell its story,” he said. “It needs landmarks that say you are here, you have arrived, and this place matters.”

The 35-foot-tall clock tower has four faces and includes a Carillon chime system.

Public Works Director Sean Dorsey said the site remediation was challenging — the soil on the site contained gasoline and various oils from the site's longtime automotive uses, village officials said. In its earliest incarnation, back in the 1930s, it was a gas station.

The gateway project was a team effort involving village employees, including Keith Kuhn, who designed the Moehling Pocket Park by Cap’s Ice Cream.

Forestry and Grounds Superintendent Dave Hull said staff received a site map that served as a blank canvas. The clock tower would serve as the focal point of a flowing design with native plants, pollinator plants and beds for annual flowers.

“We wanted a green space to greet people on these two busy roads,” he said.