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2007 was a landmark year for the Village of Burr Ridge. The Village
welcomed the opening of the Burr Ridge Village Center and was honored
to receive a 2007 APA Illinois Chapter Silver Award for the Burr Ridge
Village Center PUD and Sub-Area Plan.
The planning process that
created the Burr Ridge Village Center transformed a developer’s
request for a mixed use lifestyle center into the Village’s first and
only downtown neighborhood. The Burr Ridge Sub-Area Plan and PUD
presents tangible proof that a low density suburban office park can be
converted into a mixed use, neo-traditional downtown neighborhood. The
planning process utilized in Burr Ridge created a new community vision
based on modern, smart growth planning principals – many of which run
counter to the community’s traditional planning practices – and with
widespread community understanding and support. The successful
implementation of the Burr Ridge Village Center PUD has created a new
sense of community pride and identity for Burr Ridge.
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About the Burr Ridge
Village Center |
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There are 8 buildings in
the Burr Ridge Village Center all fronting on a downtown
street. Retail stores are located at street level in 7 of the 8
buildings with 3 buildings having residential condos above the
retail; 2 with offices above the retail and 2 others with 3
level parking decks wrapped behind and on top of the
storefronts. An all-residential building caps the
streetscape. Restaurants include Coopers Hawk, Starbucks, and
Topaz. Retail tenants include Ann Taylor & Ann Taylor Loft,
Aeropostale, American Eagle, Coldwater Creek, New York and
Company, Acorn, Gymboree, Limited Too, Bath and Body Works,
Sunglass Hut, Chico’s, J Jill, White House Black Market, Eddie
Bauer, Victoria’s Secret, Banana Republic, Kohler’s Water Spa,
Clarks, Yankee Candle, Swoozie’s, Joseph A. Bank, Clair’s,
Lenscrafters, and with more to come. |
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Street Level Retail |
241,720 square feet |
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Residential Condos |
196 Units |
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Office Condos |
38,861 square feet
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On-Street Parking |
114 spaces |
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Surface Parking |
497 spaces |
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Deck Parking |
804 spaces |
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The Village of Burr Ridge was incorporated in 1956. Its planning
history is quite typical for suburbs of its era. In a 1999
Comprehensive Plan many residents described Burr Ridge as a
“collection of subdivisions” identifying themselves as “subdivision”
residents rather than Burr Ridge residents. Planning and development
in Burr Ridge relied heavily on low density, single-use zoning
districts and hierarchal suburban street classifications. Burr Ridge
never had a central business district, a train station, commercial
crossroads, mixed-use developments, or any place that could be
identified as a traditional downtown.
In 2004, the Village was approached by Opus North Corporation who
was interested in developing a 20 acre site in the Burr Ridge
Corporate Park. The Corporate Park was a suburban office park planned
in 1982 and developed to about two-thirds of its capacity. The
original development proposed by Opus North consisted of mixed use
retail and residential buildings on the northern one-third of the
property and one-story retail buildings with street and surface
parking on the south two-thirds of the property.
In response to the development proposal by Opus North, the Village
initiated a dual planning process that included concurrent long range
community visioning and current planning. Education materials were
distributed to the Plan Commission, Board of Trustees and
others. Community leaders were taken on a field trip to a similar
venue (The Glen in Glenview, IL). A design charrette was held with the
developer, Village staff, Village planning consultants, and other
community representatives. Six public hearings were conducted by the
Plan Commission rotating between visioning at one meeting and current
planning at the next.
The concurrent planning process allowed the Village to consider its
vision for a modern-day downtown while at the same time conducting
plan review for the first step in the implementation of that
vision. Through this process, Opus North was asked to do more than
just build a mixed use lifestyle center. The Village challenged the
developer to create the main street of what would be planned as
“Downtown Burr Ridge”. The implementation of the plan has enhanced
Burr Ridge’s sense of itself as a community and Village residents are
quite proud to consider the Village Center their own place. The Burr
Ridge Sub-Area Plan also holds the promise that the Burr Ridge Village
Center PUD will be more than just a project – it will be the catalyst
for an evolving, living and breathing downtown neighborhood.
Please Mark Your Calendar: The Village of Burr Ridge
Community Development Department will be sponsoring the monthly
meeting of the Chicago Metro Section with a tour of the Village Center
on August 21, 2008. More information will be provided as the event
draws near.
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