Glenview Connect workshop hears reports from consulting teams
In the first of the Glenview Village Board's Glenview Connect public events on economic development held on Oct. 21, two teams of consultants reported on trends and statistics they've researched since June.
Glenview Village President Jim Patterson and the board welcomed back Angela Acosta, Erich Dohrer, Katie Sprague and Sarah Wicker of Callison RTKL, a global architecture, planning and design firm, and Bill Cunningham and Anne Ricker from Denver-based real estate advisory company Ricker Cunningham.
At the village's June 23 board meeting, trustees authorized the two firms to create an Economic Strategic Plan and a Downtown Revitalization Plan, updating Glenview's plan from 2006 and zoning standards from 2008. Specific targets included downtown, The Glen Town Center and the corridors of Willow Road, Milwaukee Avenue and Waukegan Road.
"We want to be able to give the village a plan, like a blueprint, to say, 'Here's how we're going to go into the next decade. Here's how we're going to be able to talk about development for the village in the next few decades to come,'" Acosta said at the outset.
In highlights taken from a preliminary 209-page report, the consultants presented findings to the board and 85 participants viewing the remote meeting on Zoom. The Glenview Connect website is available at www.glenviewconnect.com.
Flavored not only by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but also by what Wicker termed as "city quitters," people are turning to the suburbs for more space in an "urban village" that offers a combination of civic and public spaces, greater affordability of housing, and more health and wellness options.
"What's lovely about Glenview is all of your park space and your park district, where you've got a really beautiful combination of urban, suburban and rural all together," Wicker said.
Somewhat at odds with national trends, more than 58% of Glenview's population is over 40 years old, with an over-65 demographic that is likely to grow to 27% by 2025. Though seen as a positive as people "age in place" - liking what Glenview has to offer - there's also been a decrease in the millennial population (24-39).
The consulting teams also noted shifting retail and work-space trends, where technology, and more recently the pandemic, has illuminated a more home-based approach to both.
Glenview trustee Deb Karton wondered about the degree of difficulty in redevelopment in a community that had been all but "built-out."
One of the public participants suggested COVID doesn't necessarily define the future; another simply asked: "Who's going to pay for it?"
There will be a second board workshop on Nov. 18. Information such as a survey, a development blueprint and a downtown blueprint will be made available on the Glenview Connect website.