Diane Gurnea moved with her family to Orland Park more than a half-century ago from Chicago because her parents were seeking a quality high school for her younger brother.
They found Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park. But they found a whole lot more.
“They absolutely loved it out here,” said Gurnea. “When we told people where we were moving to Orland (Park) they thought we were moving to Orlando (Florida). They had never heard of Orland Park.”
Fast-forward 50 years and there aren’t many people now who haven’t heard of Orland Park.
Gurnea was among several dozen residents who showed up Tuesday night to the Orland Park Civic Center where the village hosted a Community Kick-Off Open House where it launched two major initiatives: its Comprehensive Plan Update and its Sub-Area Planning Project.
Because the village’s existing master guidelines have not seen a major overhaul since 2013, local demographics, housing demands and market conditions have shifted significantly.
To manage this evolution, the village administration partnered with the urban planning and design firm Houseal Lavigne to draft a brand-new blueprint.
The primary goals of the updated Comprehensive Plan include:
- Establishing a cohesive long-term development vision for the next 20 years.
- Evaluating modern housing needs and evolving transportation grids.
- Expanding municipal parks, green spaces and commercial centers.
Josh Koonce and Nihar Mhatre from Houseal Lavigne were on hand to answer questions and receive community feedback on the projects. Koonce said data collected from the meeting would be compiled into a comprehensive plan.
Gurnea said she was excited to see what the village’s long-term plan looks like.
“I’m definitely interested in the future of this village and the direction it’s going,” she said. “I’m especially interested in the direction it is going environmentally and with open space and parks.
“I’d like to see more pedestrian-friendly options as well as perhaps some larger businesses along the I-80 corridor.”
Resident Ronda Luna, who with her husband splits time between Illinois and Arizona, said she has a vested interest in the village’s future.
“We really miss the food here,” she said somewhat in jest. “The health facilities, shopping, the summer concerts at Centennial Park West are just some of the things we come back home for. We just love it here.”
Luna had one caveat: “No detention centers or data centers (along the I-80 corridor),”she said. “Those are two things that would make us pack our bags (for Arizona) for good.”
Rather than applying blanket zoning across the entire municipality, the Sub-Area Planning Project breaks the village down into four targeted, high-interest development zones, including:
- Old Orland Historic District: Revitalizing historical landmarks, like the John Humphrey House, while enforcing strict neighborhood design standards.
- Gateway to LaGrange District: Streamlining traffic flow and building prominent visual entry points into the heart of the village.
- Harlem Avenue Corridor: Upgrading underutilized commercial properties into modern, walkable retail storefronts.
- I-80 Employment Corridor: Planning future logistics, tech, and corporate employment hubs to anchor the town’s southern edge.
Mayor Jim Dodge and the board are using this micro-targeted strategy to spark commercial growth while aggressively protecting historic neighborhoods.
The open house featured dedicated workshop stations to gather community input for each individual district. The project team and village staff were stationed at interactive booths to discuss upcoming development timelines with residents.
Community members were encouraged to leave written notes, map out visual layout concepts and review initial economic data.
Following the open house, the village plans to gather continuous feedback through a digital public survey portal before delivering a finalized, comprehensive draft for board approval next summer.
The Village of Orland Park is moving forward with a major revision to its downtown master plan, positioning an expanded University of Chicago Medicine campus and a proposed performing arts center as the core anchors of the Main Street Triangle.
The Village Board is reviewing a newly updated redevelopment agreement with master developer Edwards Realty Group to build out the remaining vacant acreage northwest of 143rd Street and LaGrange Road into a walkable downtown district.
Rather than relying strictly on retail, the village’s updated strategy leverages high-paying healthcare jobs to drive steady, daytime foot traffic to local businesses.
The plan introduces a massive new medical layer to the existing 108,000-square-foot UChicago Medicine Center for Advanced Care already operating in the district:
- Musculoskeletal Center: A new three- or four-story specialized facility ranging between 80,000 and 120,000 square feet.
- Ground-Floor Integration: The medical center will initially lease 3,000 to 9,000 square feet of ground-level space for traditional retail and restaurant use.
- Parking Infrastructure: To balance patient and leisure parking, UChicago Medicine will hold exclusive use of the nearby 547-space parking garage on weekdays from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m., releasing it entirely to the public for evening and weekend dining.
The commercial footprint, designed by Edwards Realty, will add 140,000 square feet of urban-style, pedestrian-friendly space directly connecting to the adjacent 143rd Street Metra station.
Experiential Dining & Entertainment: The district features curated local boutiques, open-air bars, fitness centers, daycare facilities, and a cornerstone Weber Grill Restaurant equipped with an interactive public cooking school.
Heroes Park Expansion: The existing Crescent Park is being expanded into a massive central activity hub. It will host farmers’ markets, summer concerts, a pedestrian boardwalk, and a winter ice skating rink.
The Arts Anchor: Mayor Jim Dodge’s administration has written a clause into the development agreement requiring the village to officially study and decide on building a permanent performing arts center and bandshell within the next three years to keep the project moving efficiently.
The shift comes months after the village board voted to eliminate the original, underperforming 2004 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. By wiping out the old layout and auditing construction metrics with independent consultants, the village has protected its taxpayers from long-term debt while freeing $2.5 million in immediate revenue for local school districts.
With the framework set and the UChicago Medicine expansion officially locked in, construction on the final downtown commercial buildings remains on track for a rolling Fall 2027 completion.
