After sitting dormant for years, the Village of Antioch has achieved a significant milestone in the redevelopment of the village-owned property at Main Street and Depot Street. The first physical construction work has started at the site. Preliminary environmental work started during the last week in July, setting the stage for park construction to begin in early 2023. By early 2024, the Village of Antioch will have a new park as a centerpiece to the downtown business district.
The demand for the redevelopment of this area has been echoed throughout the village for years. Early last year, the Village of Antioch acquired the remainder of the property needed for the park development. Once the property was acquired, the village engaged the Lakota Group, a planning and landscape architecture firm, to seek community feedback on the final use of the property. With community input, the Lakota Group worked to produce detailed conceptual plans for the redevelopment of the property as an open space with an exposed Sequoit Creek, with appropriate flood mitigation attributes and other attractive programming and park features.
“The physical work going on now is a big step forward for the project,” said Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner. “Even though there won’t be much physical work happening between now and next spring, there will be significant efforts going on behind the scenes with the numerous moving parts associated with the project.”
Over the winter, the Antioch Village Board is expected to finalize design work for the park and obtain the necessary permits and approval needed to break ground. Since part of the project involves the re-opening of Sequoit Creek, numerous environmental and stormwater management processes are required. The current environmental cleanup and remediation are necessitated by the prior industrial use of the property.
Antioch Village Administrator, Jim Keim says the project would not be possible without the vision of the mayor and village board.
“Once complete,” said Keim, “the site will become a major gateway and anchor to Downtown Antioch and an important new hub of Village life and driver of economic development for the community.”
The Village of Antioch will provide ongoing updates on the project on the village’s Facebook page, and the Village Projects page on the Antioch website, https://www.antioch.il.gov/village-projects
