Business View Civil Municipal - Sept 2023

136 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 9 property. Those two large developments really spurred the southwest district and added a lot of infrastructure during that process for future developers to come. There is still a lot of vacant land in that area and we’re currently working with a couple of conceptual layouts for future development in that area.” Cristina White, Warrenville’s City Administrator mentions another project on the city’s agenda. “We are in the process of reviewing our Old Town civic center area to encourage future development and growth in that part of the community; to create that central hub for people to come together. There is a conceptual design that paints a picture of what we’re looking for – spaces for people to congregate, to connect, to shop. We’re looking for destination-type businesses, hopefully, some local entrepreneurs, to take up shop in that area and spark that next development.” The plan, known as OTRS (Old Town Redevelopment Site) #2 aims to replace a former gas station site that the city acquired in 2020, remediate the contaminated land, adjoin it to three adjacent city-owned properties to its north, and then attract private, mixed-use development along the street frontages, while the city develops the site’s significant amount of green space to accommodate community events and activities that will help to support the businesses that will locate there. As is its custom, the city is soliciting public input on OTRS2 and is working with interested stakeholders to help design the future of Warrenville’s historic core. Residential developments vary Reaching out to the greater community, and making sure that the public’s needs and wishes are respected, is key to Mayor Brummel’s governing style and part of his philosophy on how to create and maintain a diverse residential base. “We’ve been very sensitive about citing new developments and the changes they will bring to the community,” he explains. “We have different goals for different parts of town. We’ve found places in Warrenville where large developments are appropriate; we’ve encouraged them and we’ve got them now. But we’ve also protected the older part of the community so that the new developments don’t have any negative impacts on those neighborhoods. You can go to the older part of town and it essentially looks the same.”