Life Amplified

Mayor's Corner

Posted: May 11, 2023

Mayor Michael GlotzI’m pleased to report that the Village of Tinley Park is in great shape as we enter what is sure to be a very productive summer filled with lots of great new businesses, exciting developments, fun special events, needed infrastructure improvements and innovative tourism initiatives.

On that last note, we’ve been very busy this year. As many of you know, the Village redirects a portion of its accommodations tax toward tourism marketing, which helps us promote the Life Amplified brand and get the word out to non-residents about Tinley Park and all we have to offer. To that end, we just rolled out our brand-new VisitTinleyPark.com tourism website, which has been designed specifically to promote Tinley Park as a tourist destination and focuses on all the things that make us a great place to visit.

Speaking of that, we have some great events on the docket for you this summer. Our Benches on the Avenue are out now along Oak Park Avenue, and Music in the Plaza returns select Saturdays starting June 10 with seven great concerts. Classic car aficionados won’t want to miss Cruise Nights on Tuesdays from May 30 to Aug. 29 in Downtown Tinley, and shoppers will love the Farmers Market on Saturdays from June to October in Zabrocki Plaza. New this year is our Art and Garden Market, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13, also in Zabrocki Plaza. Come by and get something for mom!

And of course, the summer wouldn’t be complete without the annual Tinley Park Block Party, which features live music, great food and fun events on July 15 and 16 in Downtown Tinley. Learn more about all of these at TinleyPark.org/SpecialEvents.

A community can be measured in part by how healthy its business climate is, and in that regard, we’re doing very well. Tinley Park has seen a lot of great businesses open their doors here this past year, including Popus Gourmet Popcorn, Smoothie King, Floor and Décor, Ascend Cannabis Dispensary, Flipside Brewing, not one but two new Starbucks, Eiffel Waffle, Crumbl Cookies, Hillgrove Tap and Vinny’s Clam Bar. Tinley Park also welcomed a new Holiday Inn in November, bringing our total number of hotels in town to 11.

A few businesses are coming very soon, such as the Gas ‘N Wash at 183rd and LaGrange Road and Banging Gavel’s brewery, restaurant and outdoor patio in the historic Vogt building near the Oak Park Avenue train station.

More signs of growth include Springfort Hall at 172nd and Oak Park Avenue, which is now 100% occupied. Construction of the new Pete’s Fresh Market at the old Super K-Mart building at 163rd Street and Harlem Avenue is also coming along nicely, as is the Tinley Park Plaza shopping center on the east side of Harlem Avenue, just south of 159th Street.

Other big projects include the Tinley Park Business Center at Harlem Avenue and Vollmer Road; the Oak Ridge residential subdivision near Ridgeland and Oak Forest avenues at the former Panduit Headquarters property; and the new Loyola Medicine Southwest Ambulatory Care Center at LaGrange Road and 179th Street.

Perhaps the biggest new project happening right now is Harmony Square, a new multi-use plaza that will be located at the corner of Oak Park Avenue and North Street in Downtown Tinley. When complete, Harmony Square will be programmed at least 250 days of the year and will be a destination for residents and regional visitors alike.

We’re hoping to make some progress this year with purchasing and developing the 280-acre Tinley Park Mental Health Center site near the corner of 183rd Street and Harlem Avenue. We have a vision for the site that will remediate all environmental hazards and provide all residents of Tinley Park with a development that will last for generations. As many of you know, our fire department recently responded to a fire there at Pine Hall. It’s was a pretty substantial blaze that we were able to get under control with the aid from several of our neighboring fire departments. Incidents like these provide a sobering reminder of why this site needs to be cleaned up and developed, and why the Village of Tinley Park is the best organization to do it.

Our Village infrastructure is very important, and on that end there’s quite a lot we’ll be doing this year. The Village is making sidewalk improvements to the east side of Oak Park Avenue, as well as finalizing coordination with the Cook County Department of Transportation to reconstruct 175th Street.  Other key infrastructure projects include the reconstruction of 80th Avenue from Greenway Boulevard to Timber Drive; Lift Station upgrades; installation of a pressure booster to fix lower water pressure in the west section of the Village; and the annual Pavement Management Project, which will repair 4.7 miles of roadway.

Stay up-to-date on these projects and others by visiting TinleyPark.org/StayInformed and signing up for one or all of our many Village communications. Until next time, stay safe and have a great summer!

Glotz Signature