SAVOY, Ill. (WAND) - The Village of Savoy has been working to create space for a new downtown square, a centralized space for residents. They selected a nearly three-acre parcel located between West Main and West Church Streets, and Wesley and North Dunlap Avenues.
"The village is doing their due diligence with demolition and a phase one environmental that should all be done by mid-May to mid-June," said Savoy Village Administrator Andy Quarnstrom. "Then it'll be shovel-ready and ready to give to the developer, so we're excited about that coming up very quickly."
As part of its agreement with developers Downtown Development Group LLC, the village was responsible for demolishing the buildings on the property. Once that is completed, the village will hand the process over to the developers.
"Savoy continues to grow and be a wonderful place for families to live and play, and has great schools," said Marissa Siero, CEO of Downtown Development Group LLC. "What we're really lacking is some strong economic development and some placemaking, so people can really identify what is Savoy? And really have a place to gather as well as a place to spend time, eat, dine and play with their families."
In plans shared with the Village of Savoy, Siero listed plans for the area to include 70 apartments, more than 10 retail spaces and a stage for performances. Siero said it combines the need for community spaces and new housing.
"This project is a catalyst for an overarching development for the area," Siero said. "We're at high-density residentially, but we don't yet have that economic development opportunity and that's really going to be addressed with this project."
Quarnstrom said the village hopes this large new development encourages other companies and developers to breathe life into Savoy. This especially applies to concerns of enough high-quality housing.
"We have quite a few developers who are in the process of developing single-family properties, which, if you look at housing studies across our community, we're still in need of," Quarnstrom said. "We also have some potential multifamily projects that are coming up, which, again, there's a consistent need for."
Demolition on the project will be completed by June 2026. Downtown Development Group LLC plans to launch construction by Spring 2027.
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