Tinley Park Gets Final Parcel Of Land For Harmony Square
The City of Joliet may want to look at what Tinley Park has planned as ideas to revamp the parking lot in front of the Rialto Square Theatre are being discussed. The parking lot has been used for outdoor events including New Orleans North and Race Fan Rally. Press release below.
The Village of Tinley Park recently announced it is partnering with a developer that has acquired the final parcel of property needed to move forward with construction of Harmony Square, a new multi-use plaza that will be located at the corner of Oak Park Avenue and North Street in Downtown Tinley.
“This has been in play for many years, and this parcel was the one piece we were waiting for to bring this great project to fruition,” Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz said. “This is something that will benefit the entire Tinley Park community for decades to come, and I can’t wait for Harmony Square to be done so everyone can start enjoying it.”
Harmony Square, which was designed by the Lakota Group and will be constructed on 1.6 acres, will include an adaptive plaza space that will have events scheduled all year long, from summer to fall to winter to spring. Features will include an artificial turf lawn, a concert stage on one end and a focal “gateway” plaza on the other, seasonal fire pits, a splash pad for summer that converts into an ice rink during the winter, and a support building for skate rentals and a warming hut, as well as other amenities.
“Harmony Square is part of a bigger plan to redevelop Downtown Tinley, which is already underway with the opening of the Boulevard at Central Station and the many new businesses along Oak Park Avenue,” Glotz said. “Once complete, it will be the living room of Tinley Park, a central hub where people will come to hang out and relax.”
Harmony Square is part of the Village’s “Life Amplified” branding effort, started in 2017, that puts music at the focus. The new plaza was designed using placemaking, a community-driven, collaborative, destination-focused process that pays attention to the interactions between the physical, social, ecological, economic and cultural qualities of a space.
“Harmony Square will also support the surrounding businesses and, in turn, the entire Tinley Park economy,” Village Manager Pat Carr said. “It will reduce the leakage of locally earned money being spent in neighboring communities, increasing the investment and tax base in Tinley Park and dramatically increasing visitor spending locally.”
Jim Fuentes, a longtime member of the Tinley Park business community who has seen the Harmony Square plans from vision to fruition as a member of the Marketing Commission, said he’s excited for what it will bring to the Tinley Park community.
“As a Downtown Tinley business owner, I couldn’t be more thrilled at the positive impact this new development will have not just along Oak Park Avenue, but Village-wide,” Fuentes said. “Harmony Square is a significant step forward, and it’s the most exciting thing I’ve seen in years. I’d like to personally thank Mayor Glotz and Village Board for their leadership in making this happen.”
Construction of the plaza will include infrastructure improvements and the reconstruction and beautification of North and South streets with brick pavers and the construction of a new road, Festival Street, connecting North and 173rd streets.
“We have a great team that worked very hard to make this happen, from Village Board members to staff,” Glotz said. “I also want to thank Scott Freres and the Lakota Group for a great design, as well as Robinson Engineering and Christopher Burke Engineering for their assistance with installing the needed infrastructure to make this happen.”
The Village is still working on details with the developer and will have more information, including an official opening date, in the near future. View a video of the Harmony Square unveiling event held on Sunday, March 5 at www.TinleyPark.org/HarmonySquareUnveiling.
Harmony Square was designed by the Lakota Group, a planning, urban design and landscape architecture firm from Chicago, and engineered by Christopher Burke Associates and Robinson Engineering.
Press Release
