Glenview trustees take first steps toward creating strategic plan
Glenview village officials have hired two firms to create a strategic plan aimed at stimulating economic growth in several targeted areas, including downtown.
The Glen Town Center and the corridors of Willow Road, Milwaukee Avenue and Waukegan Road, would also be included in the new economic development strategic plan and downtown revitalization plan.
Village board members voted 6-0 to hire CallisonRTKL, a global architecture, planning and design firm; and Denver-based real estate advisory company Ricker Cunningham to do the work.
The joint effort would take 9 months to complete at a cost of no more than $280,000, officials said.
The goal "on projects like this ... is to ready the environment for investment," said Ricker Cunningham's Bill Cunningham.
Trustee Mary Cooper stressed importance of residential input at the meeting last week: "I hope you all really gather some information as you go through the process."
Trustee Deborah Karton had a similar concern in light of COVID-19, regarding the village board workshops and public open houses that are part of the proposals.
Callison's Katie Sprague acknowledged the difficulty of dealing with pandemic restrictions but ensured village officials the team would use a variety of methods to reach people.
"Whatever it takes to round the troops up, that's what we're going to do," she said.
Though the plan targeted specific areas, its scope considers all of Glenview.
"We really look at downtown revitalization more as a strategy than a plan," Cunningham said.