Planning Programs and Projects

A new station was rebuilt between 2002-2005 at the Oak Park Avenue stop on the Rock Island Line that includes a café and a clock tower with 360° views of the station area. Additionally, a new station at the 80th Avenue stop opened in the Spring of 2012.

The Village was selected for inclusion in the 2014 Community Planning Program of Projects for a Developer / Financial Advisory Panel. The Panel convened on October 14th, 2014 and a summary report of the discussion can be found below under "Related Studies".

Among the short-term goals is to expand Zabrocki Plaza, immediately east of the Oak Park Avenue Metra station, to increase space for activities that draw people into the downtown, and at the same time to showcase the downtown's amenities to people from outside Tinley Park. Because any expansion would impact parking spaces in the Metra lot, the village would have to make up for those lost spaces elsewhere near the station, and discussions with Metra about that have been ongoing.

'The Boulevard' - a mixed use project consisting of 165 units and 29,853 sq. ft of commercial space at South St and 67th Ave, was approved for construction in September 2018 and completed in 2021.

The Village of Tinley Park recently announced it is partnering with a developer that has acquired the final parcel of property needed to move forward with construction of Harmony Square, a new multi-use plaza that will be located at the corner of Oak Park Avenue and North Street in Downtown Tinley.

The Village also secured funding for a new traffic light at 80th Avenue and Timber Drive to help control traffic in the Metra station area.

The plan was completed in August 2002. The RTA also funded an update to this study. Please visit https://rtams.org/projects/planning/2746 for more information on the updated study. In 2013 the Village of Glen Ellyn was awarded CMAQ program funds, via the RTA's Access to Transit Improvement Program for multi-modal access improvements to Pace Route 301, which was a recommendation made in the DuPage Area Transit Plan.

Waukegan completed the Washington Street Commercial Corridor Plan with assistance from CMAP's Local Technical Assistance Program in 2015. The plan identifies opportunities for economic development along a main artery of downtown Waukegan.

This study was completed in September 2002. In 2009 the RTA funded an update to this study; please visit https://rtams.org/projects/planning/2745 for more information.

The study was completed in May 1999. The RTA recently completed a Phase II Transit Corridor Study which developed conceptual development programs for two parcels in the TOD area; one parcel is an under-utilized parking area Southeast of the Vermont Street Rock Island station and the other is adjacent to the station. Additionally, through an RTA Pilot Project providing implementation technical assistance, a new zoning district called the Uptown Transit-Oriented District was created and formally adopted into the City Zoning Ordinance on June 14, 2012. The new regulations can be found here. 

In 2012 Metra received a grant from the Innovation, Coordination and Enhancement (ICE) Program for improvements to the Blue Island, Vermont Street Interagency Transfer Station. This project includes additional interagency signage at multiple locations, including both Metra stations. Additionally, the RTA chose Blue Island as part of the 2013 Community Planning Program to work with ULI to assemble a developer discussion panel to provide input, guidance and advice to the City as they work to attract TOD investment on a City-owned parcel adjacent to the 119th Street Metra station. This discussion took place on August 12, 2013 and a summary of this discussion can be found in the Related Reports link. The City is currently working to implement the recommendations from this discussion.

Orland Park constructed and opened a new Metra station at 143rd Street in April 2007. Service was also doubled on the SW Service line at the same time and saw a 20% increase in ridership. The Village also updated their zoning ordinance to include transit-supportive regulations.

Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park, a 295-unit luxury apartment complex & commercial development built near the 143rd Street Metra station, broke ground in March 2012 and is now fully occupied. 

In October 2014 the Residences of Orland Park Crossing, a 231‐unit rental apartment, rowhome and townhome development broke ground across the street from the 143rd Metra station at 143rd and La Grange Road and the first residential units have been delivered for occupancy. A Mariano's grocery store has also opened in the commercial area adjacent to this site.

In 2014, the University of Chicago announced that they will be developing a 120,000SF outpatient medical facility at the northwest corner of 143rd Street and LaGrange Road which opened in December 2016. In conjunction with this project, the Village constructed a parking structure at the northeast corner of 143rd Street and Ravinia Avenue which opened in October 2016. This project adds 520+ spaces on roughly two acres of currently vacant municipal-owned land and includes a 12,000 square foot restaurant space.

In March 2017 the next development for the station area was announced by the Village for the 1.6-acre, triangle-shaped property it owns just west of the Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park apartment building and south of the 143rd Street Metra station, which is a two story, 80,000 sq. ft. mixed used building. This newest development is anchored by a luxury cinema on the second floor with first floor specialty retail and restaurant tenants.

The study was completed in October 2000 and in 2014 CMAP funded an update to this study with support from the RTA. 

Additionally, the RTA coordinated with ULI to assemble a panel of developers on June 12, 2013 to solicit guidance, advice and input from the development community on TOD opportunities near the 211th Street Metra Station. This discussion focused on property adjacent to the Metra station in both Park Forest and Olympia Fields. A summary of this discussion can be found here: 211th Street Station. 

The Village was selected by the RTA to complete a TOD zoning code update as part of the 2016 Community Planning program. Work on the zoning code is now complete and the updated zoning code and design guidelines were adopted by the Village Board in September 2018.