Village Approves Downtown Plan

On December 19th, the Village of Morton Trustees officially approved the new Morton Downtown Development Plan. “We want to thank our Trustees for their endorsement and adoption of the plan,” said Jennifer Daly, CEO for the Morton EDC. “We had hundreds of local citizens participate in the development of the plan and we believe it addresses the concerns and vision conveyed in our Village Comprehensive Plan.”

The development of the new Downtown Plan was led by Houseal Lavigne, a consulting firm located in Chicago. They began the process in January of 2010 and finished the proposed plan in August. “The countless community input sessions and interviews were critical in the development of a plan that is customized to the needs and desires of our local citizens and business owners,” said Daly. “Some of the key components including a downtown plaza, wayfinding signage, connections for the bike trails, and more mixed use spaces to accommodate downtown living, dining, shopping, and recreation were desires vocalized by dozens of Mortonites during the process.”

The Morton EDC and their Downtown Development Action Team will now lead the efforts to implement the various components of the plan with the support from the Village, downtown property and business owners, and the elected officials in Morton. “It is going to take an active partnership between many local individuals and groups to bring this plan to fruition,” said Daly. “We are looking forward to the challenge of taking what is currently on paper and making it a reality for our citizens and businesses.” For more information on the new Morton Downtown Plan, please go to www.mortonedc.org or contact Jennifer Daly at 309-263-2491.