Preliminary work begins at village-owned property at Main and Orchard

ANTIOCH – The village of Antioch has achieved a significant milestone in the redevelopment of village-owned property at Main and Depot streets that has sat dormant for years.

Construction work has started at the site. Preliminary environmental work started during the last week in July, setting the stage for park construction to begin in early 2023. By early 2024, the village will have a new park as a centerpiece for the downtown business district.

Early last year, Antioch acquired the remainder of the property needed for the park development. The village then engaged the Lakota Group, a planning and landscape architecture firm, to seek community feedback on the final use of the property.

With community input, the Lakota Group worked to produce detailed conceptual plans for the redevelopment of the property as an open space with an exposed Sequoit Creek, with appropriate flood mitigation attributes and other attractive programming and park features.

“The physical work going on now is a big step forward for the project,” Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner said in a news release. “We’ll see the current phase wrap up by the end of August. Even though there won’t be much physical work happening between now and next spring, there will be significant efforts going on behind the scenes with the numerous moving parts associated with the project.”

Over the winter, the Antioch Village Board is expected to finalize design work for the park and obtain the permits and approval needed to break ground. Since part of the project involves the reopening of Sequioit Creek, there are environmental and stormwater management processes that are required. Environmental cleanup and remediation are necessitated by the prior industrial use of the property.

“Once complete, the site will become a major gateway and anchor to downtown Antioch and an important new hub of village life and driver of economic development for the community,” Antioch Village Administrator Jim Keim said.

Antioch will provide ongoing updates on the project on the village’s Facebook page and the Village Projects page on the Antioch website, antioch.il.gov/village-projects.