From the Daily Hearld 

By Michael Wamble
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Tuesday, February 27, 2007  

All aboard the redevelopment train.

Villa Park trustees voted to pay for two separate studies to decide what direction to take to improve the area surrounding the Metra Union Pacific West Line station.

For the first study, the village will pay development consulting firm S.B. Friedman and Co. and the Lakota Group $40,000 to establish the neighborhood’s economic potential.

Then the village will pay the Chicago-based HNTB Corp. $6,800 to create a design to redefine a section of the village that in recent years has been marked by crime, including robberies and gang graffiti.

After Monday night’s board meeting, Village Manager Robert Niemann said the board could expect the development study to be completed in May.

Both unanimous votes represent the second step of a project that began nearly two years ago.

Here are a few links to the plan details….

Village of Villa Park Station Area Plan

Garden Village Square Redevelopment Concept Detail

Preferred Concept Plan Memorandum