Glen Ellyn pedestrian corridor to be complete this spring

Construction has begun to make areas around the downtown Glen Ellyn Civic Center a more inviting place to walk or dine outdoors.

Brick pathways dressed up with public art and lighting will usher downtown visitors to and from a new parking garage as part of an ongoing project to turn the Civic Center into a pedestrian-friendly municipal campus.

Trustees this week unanimously approved agreements with building owners giving the village easements, or rights, to extend a portion of the passage running from the parking garage north to Duane Street.

The agreements also allow the village to have an artist paint a mural on the south exterior wall of the former Katy’s Boutique. The mural will face another segment of the pedestrian corridor that will link the five-level parking garage to Main Street, an area that’s seen storefronts replaced with restaurants.

If a dining spot takes over the vacant Katy’s space, it would have an exclusive option to negotiate the terms of a license agreement with the village to use a new outdoor seating area, provided that a tenant signs a lease on or before June 1. The village board would ultimately review and approve the license agreement with a new restaurant.

Enclosed with planters, the outdoor seating area will occupy about 900 square feet behind the former women’s clothing boutique.

It won’t be a straight line from the parking garage heading north and then west out to Main Street, but it’s meant to be pleasing to the eye.

Brick installed in a herringbone pattern for walking areas will match materials proposed for a major downtown streetscape project tentatively set to break ground next year.

Wall-mounted sconces and in-ground lighting will illuminate the pedway entrance from Main Street.

Opposite of the Katy’s mural, facade improvements also are planned for the north brick wall of the Sushi Ukai restaurant building.

To make way for the passage, the village bought and demolished vacant real estate offices and a residential building.

Trustees in January granted the zoning approvals for the so-called Civic Center Pedway and other site improvements with an estimated cost of more than $663,000.

Construction has already begun in the plaza area. The project should be complete by May 1, according to Village Manager Mark Franz.

That’s the same timeline for the opening of the 277-stall parking garage. Most commuters are expected to take the route from the parking structure north to Duane Street, Community Development Director Staci Springer said. Metra riders could eventually gain access to the train station via a proposed pedestrian underpass.