W E D N E S D A Y
JOURNAL
October 31, 2018 Vol. 39, No. 14 ONE DOLLAR
Haunted happenings Homes, page 17
of Oak Park and River Forest
@oakpark @wednesdayjournal
OPRF facilities plan cost jumps to nearly $220M Experts say cost projections for final two sequences ‘extremely difficult’ to make By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
After adding its estimates for the fourth and fifth sequences of Imagine OPRF’s long-term master facilities plan, a representative of Perkins and Will, an architectural firm, told the Oak Park and River Forest High School board Oct. 25 that the total projected cost of the master plan would be around $219 million. The updated financial estimate comes weeks after some community members criticized the district when an initial cost estimate of the master plan released last month only included projections for the first three sequences of the five-sequence plan. During the Oct. 25 meeting, members of Imagine, the group formed last spring to draft a long-term master plan, and various district officials tried putting that total cost figure into some context while dispelling what they said were the many inaccuracies some people were perpetuating about the cost and nature of the plan. During a presentation at a special meeting on Sept. 11, Imagine OPRF members announced the first three phases, or sequences, of the five-sequence master plan was projected to cost around $145 million to complete. Cost estimates for the last two sequences were not included in that Sept. 11 presentation, architects and Imagine members said, because the construction See OPRF on page 14
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Incredible edibles
Evan, 3, and Leah Triandafilou, 6, of Oak Park, peruse the pops during the Hemingway District Halloween Parade on Oak Park Avenue last Saturday. More photos on page 16.
Jewel out, Pete’s in at Madison and Oak Park Oak Park trustees approve Jupiter for development project
By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
The Oak Park Board of Trustees approved Jupiter Realty Co. as the preferred developer for the village-owned parking lot at the corner of Oak Park Avenue and Madison Street at its meet-
SAVE THE DATE
ing on Oct. 29. The new proposal is vastly different from the blockbuster project proposed by Jupiter in 2016, which included retail shops and a grocery store. That project would have “bent” Madison Street to make room for a large grocery store. The new project brings a new twist to
the years-long effort to develop the corner lot — instead of Jewel-Osco, Jupiter is now saying that a second Pete’s Fresh Market in Oak Park will be the anchor tenant for the mixed-use development that will include both commercial and See JUPITER on page 15
SAY Connects presents, After “America to Me”: On the Ground in Oak Park and River Forest A community conversation for our villages on November 28, 2018 Julian Middle School Auditorium • 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Tickets: FREE - For more info or to RSVP, visit the link below.
Tickets at: www.OakPark.com/sayconnects