New Skate Park, Sewer Upgrades Coming to Gordon Park

Plans for the improvements advanced after the park district and the village reached an agreement last week in a land dispute, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Park District of La Grange agreed last week to transfer a small tract of land to the village, resolving a land dispute that held in a deadlock proposed improvements to Gordon Park, the Chicago Tribune reports. With what park District Dean Bissias described as a “pencil tip” of land at Ogden and Locust changing hands, the Plan Commission approved a new skating area and sewer upgrades for Gordon Park. "There really wasn't a lot of emotion or anything about it; it was just a matter of (clarifying) what was needed," Bissias told the Tribune. "…We kind of negotiated back and forth whether they really needed it." The Village Board will vote on whether to give the project the official go-ahead at an upcoming meeting. Read the rest of the …

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Little People’s Country Sets Up Shop in Former 7-Eleven Storefront

Wondered about what’s going on at the old convenience store? It’s the child-care center next door moving their second location adjacent to their first.

When a construction company strips a building or location completely bare, the resulting four white walls sometimes is referred to as a “vanilla box.” At the former 7-Eleven at the corner of Hillgrove and Ashland in La Grange, where construction has been ongoing for a few weeks now, this has apparently caused a bit of confusion. As Cindy Perkins recalls it: “As we were working outside, getting the façade ready, people would look by, look at the building permit and say, ‘oh, The Vanilla Box, another restaurant is coming!’” Not so much. (Although Perkins now jokes that there really should be a Vanilla Box restaurant somewhere.) Perkins is the director of the child-care service Little People’s Country, which up until now has had its services …

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About Town

Have You Noticed This Home Renovation Or This Demo Site?

A house under contract in the process of a major over haul, and the recent demolition of a building, had me wondering what was going on—so I called the Village of La Grange and found out.

I love to drive through La Grange because I always notice something I hadn’t noticed before. Lately, the house at the corner of Bell and Brainard avenues has peaked my curiosity. Every time I drive by it I wonder what the story is behind it. I know the house was put up for sale and very quickly the sign had "under contract" added to it. I thought this was terrific—houses are selling in La Grange. Then, things started happening: a chain fence was put up around the property, the back porch was removed, the windows were taken out, an addition was being added to the side of the house, and then the stucco was removed. Because the house was still under contract, I was interested in finding out about the renovations. My curiosity didn’t stop …

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Drawn to Demolition

The former Rich Port YMCA building at 31 E. Ogden Ave. is attracting a steady level of spectators as construction crews rip out its insides.

On Aug. 4, demolition continued of the former Rich Port YMCA building, 31 E. Ogden Ave., and two students from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana stopped to take photos as construction crews ripped down the giant West-facing facade. The building has been vacant since 2007. The YMCA serving the La Grange area is now located at 1100 E. 31st St. in La Grange Park. Originally sold, the building was bought back by the YMCA after its buyer became wrapped up in nearly three years of legal issues, preventing demolition.

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Contractor Promises Two Schools Will Open on Time

The District 105 board of education approved up to $40,000 for overtime after a strike delayed renovations.

School District 105 Superintendent Glenn Schlichting had already drafted a letter to parents, informing them that the first day of school would be pushed back, he told school board members near the beginning July 26 meeting. But midway through the meeting, a smiling Schlicting said he could rip the letter up, after officials from Henry Bros. Construction promised the board Seventh Avenue School and Ideal Elementary School would be ready on time, on Aug. 25, despite a delay caused by a strike. "We'll make that day," said Mike Concannon, vice president of field operations at Henry Bros. Pushing the first day of school back from the scheduled start is "out of the question," he told the board. The board approved $40,000 for Henry Bros. to pay …

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