Joliet to present downtown development plan at open house

The city will hold a second open house for public input on plans for redevelopment around the downtown Joliet Gateway Center.

The public will be able to comment on a draft proposal for development around the city’s transportation hub at the event on May 14.

The open house is 6-8 p.m. in the Gateway Center train station at 90 E. Jefferson St.

The proposal is for the Downtown Joliet Equitable Transit Oriented Development Plan, which is aimed at designing future development linked to the city’s public transit center.

The first open house, called “a visioning workshop” at the time, was held nearly a year ago.

The city has since developed a draft proposal for the plan, which will be the subject of the upcoming event.

City Planner Jayne Bernhardt said the city wants public comment, which would contribute to the final version of the proposal for redevelopment.

Ideas presented at the previous open house held in June included housing, professional office space, a convention center and small shops.

The Gateway Center includes the train station, which opened in 2018, and a bus depot that opened in 2022. It is built around the old Union Station, which the city now leases out for a banquet center and other potential uses.

More information about the open house and the Downtown Joliet Equitable Transit Oriented Development Plan can be found on the city website at joliet.gov/etod.

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