The Evergreen Parker

Looking for Something Better

After the Village Board unanimously approved development of a 450,000-square-foot outdoor mall project, we dig a little deeper into the subtext of what that could mean for Evergreen Park.

Dozens of people from Evergreen Park and Chicago's Beverly neighborhood have turned out at public meetings the past two weeks to study and comment on plans for a proposed 450,000-square-foot strip mall on Western Avenue north of the Walmart/Sam's Club development. I have written about developments like this for many years, and the comments and concerns are almost always the same: traffic, especially in neighborhoods and around schools; storm water runoff; and the loss of green space. Many of the comments about this development touched on those themes. But there was also an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the project that extended beyond them, a feeling that this development at this time in this place simply doesn't fit. People wanted …

•  5 Comments
• Photos (1)