Riverwoods, downtown hotel, Opera House renovations touted by Woodstock leaders at State of the City

Overlooking Woodstock Square, city’s leaders touted their successes over the past year at the State of the City luncheon Tuesday.

Inside the Old Courthouse, which has seen some several businesses leave since remodeling concluded last year, Woodstock officials noted some of the awards the improvements have received. The latest award is the International Economic Development Council Best in Show, the topic of a presentation at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Woodstock Opera House on Wednesday May 23, 2024. The opera house will host a special Pre-Renovation Open House on Wednesday, May 29th, from 5 to 7 p.m., before the renovations, made possible by a Rebuild Illinois Grant totaling $2,964,553 for the Downtown Square & Opera House Renovation Projects. (Gregory Shaver)

Some of the highlights Mayor Mike Turner and others touched on during their remarks include:

The Opera House renovations. City officials said there were 30,000 attendees in the 2023-24 season. The Opera House is set to reopen later this month following the completion of the work.
The controversial Riverwoods subdivision, which the city council approved in April. Turner defended the decision and encouraged everyone to look at a lengthy post he put on his Facebook page to get more details about the rationale behind the decision. “Council was very deliberate and thorough in the consideration of Riverwoods,” Turner said.
The new hotel coming to downtown, which Turner called a “big deal.”
The new city website that launched in February. City records indicate there has been “a huge leap in user experience.”
More automation. The mayor touched on the city’s move to the OpenGov software system. One of its uses is as a platform for the city’s new business registration requirement, the deadline for which was Tuesday. Documents presented at the luncheon state 325 businesses have registered.
Downtown business occupancy: There is also a 93.4% downtown Woodstock business occupancy rate and a 98.7% Square occupancy rate, officials said.

In his remarks, Police Chief John Lieb mentioned Woodstock Police Department is fully staffed with 41 officers. Lieb said the department has seen success with automatic license plate readers. He also talked about some of the challenges the police department faces, including drugs laced with fentanyl ”that continue to harm and kill some of our citizens.”

Most people have the perception that Woodstock is a very safe place; Lieb said, adding: “I can stand here and tell you it is.”