Oswego village president: ‘Outlook is great’ for 2022 in village

Oswego Village president Troy Parlier says village residents should expect to see a year full of new business openings and more residential growth in 2022, while village government’s number one goal will remain fiscal responsibility.

The village has seen considerable growth in recent years.

Parlier attributed much of the village’s financial growth and stability to a well managed budget.

The village saw a surplus of $2.9 million dollars in 2020, $2.6 million last year, and is $4 million under budget this year, according to Parlier.

Business in the village has also continued to thrive throughout the pandemic.

“We have done really well through COVID,” said Parlier.

He noted that sales tax during the harshest points of the pandemic dropped only 4%, and currently, sales tax is “way ahead of budget” for 2022.

Parlier gave credit to the Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce and the business community as well as the residents for adapting as the pandemic has dragged on.

Referring to local businesses, Parlier said, “They found ways to reinvent themselves, offering different products, offering new products all together, and we didn’t skip a beat.”

Village residents, meanwhile, “stepped up and supported our businesses like no other community, which allowed us to keep progressing,” he said.

Parlier does not expect to see changes to COVID-19 mandates or regulations in the coming year.

“I think we’re at the status quo now,” he said, “Hopefully we get back to a more normal time.”

New year to bring more dining options

Village residents can expect to have several new dining options in coming months.

The Reserve at Hudson Crossing, at Washington and Harrison streets in the village’s downtown, is adding two new restaurants. Riot Pizza, a neon-lit retro-vibe gaming arcade, will offer 30 craft beers, pizza, and loud music. At the other end of the complex, Oak and Bean will serve breakfast in the morning, and convert to a wine bar in the evenings, according to Parlier.

The village will also be getting a new ice cream shop, the Dairy Barn, at 113 Main Street, set to open in February, and a new Mexican restaurant, Freddy’s Off The Chain, at 11 Madison Street, will open in March.

Parlier attributed the village’s continued success to well-managed expenses, as well as a steadily expanding residential and commercial business.

“We’ve had kind of a renaissance here in the last couple years, bringing in not only new commercial business, but also developers coming to Oswego, willing to invest,” he said. “We were in a stale time period for many years.”

One of the keys to getting the village out of that state was creating private and public sector joint initiatives.

Venue 1012, the outdoor amphitheater and music venue on Orchard Road, is a joint initiative that opened late last summer.

The $1.2 million venue was paid for in part by private sector donations of over $600,000 and $250,000 in grants. Costing the village less than $500,000, the project was finished ahead of schedule and under budget. The village board is currently finalizing the venue’s entertainment schedule for 2022.

Village dog owners should also expect a new dog park this summer.

“It’s not going to be just a fence with a field,” Parlier said.

The facility will feature three separate paddocks: one for small dogs, one for large dogs, and one with an obstacle course for agility training.

Busy year ahead expected in residential construction

Village residents can expect to see many additional residential developments in 2022.

Parlier said the village has plans for residential developments ranging from high-end rental properties to a senior transitionary housing concept.

“People are finding that Oswego is a really good place to be,” said Parlier.

Ground has already broken on Avanterra, a community of high-end rental properties at the corner of Wolf’s Crossing and Douglas roads. The community will have units renting for up to $3,200 per month.

The Oswego Village Senior Living Community is expected to break ground this summer on the corner of Route 31 and West Washington Street just north of village hall. The facility being developed by Montgomery Senior Living LLC, will offer levels of care based on residents’ needs, with apartments, assisted living, and a memory care facility in one compound.

Redwood Apartments, located at the southeast corner of Orchard and Mill roads, is set to break ground as soon as the ground thaws. Plans have been approved for Hudson Point, a subdivision of large single-family homes on the corner of Wolf’s Crossing and Route 30.

Parlier said the village’s biggest challenge has been the pace of construction.

“It’s been crazy fast, but so far we’ve been able to stay on top of everything,” he said. “I like that challenge much better than a stagnant economy.”

“This is just the start,” said Parlier, “The market is red hot.”

So hot, in fact, that the village has begun the search to fill a project manager position. Project manager is a new position in the village, created to help manage the rapid residential growth. In the past two years the village board has approved the concept or final plans for over 2000 resident units.

“He or she is going to be very busy,” Parlier said of the project manager.

One of the village’s biggest projects for the new year will be converting the village’s water to be sourced from Lake Michigan. The project cost will total in the hundreds of millions, according to Parlier.

The board voted in December, in cooperation with Yorkville and Montgomery, to obtain lake water from the DuPage Water Commission. The village initiated the search for a new water source after state officials determined that the deep well aquifer the village and its neighboring communities now draw their water from may not be able to meet local demand by 2050.

Oswego residents may see ground broken on the long-planned reconstruction of Wolf’s Crossing Road before the end of the year. The $65 million project was given the green light two years ago and will modernize the busy two-lane road to handle increased traffic.

The village police department will likely be adding officers, as well as making improvements to equipment.

Parlier said money has been set aside in the budget for updated gear such as officer-worn body cameras.

Parlier said he has also been working on allocating money in the budget to make overall improvements to existing infrastructure, including bike paths and sidewalks, and additional parking spaces downtown.