Next summer, the 319-space parking deck, adjacent to the new Hinsdale Middle School, will open. The parking deck should help solve parking problems that have plagued downtown Hinsdale for ages. The new parking deck should further energize our already thriving downtown. Currently - even before the new parking deck opens - we have one of Hinsdale's lowest retail vacancy rates at just 3.2 percent. The average vacancy rate in the Chicago area is above 10 percent.
We have made tremendous progress improving the village's infrastructure. Over the past three years, the village has fixed 33 miles of roads, representing 50 percent of all Hinsdale roads. Now, over 94 percent of Hinsdale's roads are rated in "good" or "excellent" condition. The village accomplished this work on time and below budget. We remain committed to making further major road, sewer and drainage improvements in coming years.
Once again, we have maintained a AAA bond rating from S&P, which is no easy task for an Illinois municipality. Indeed, fewer than 2 percent of the municipalities in Illinois have a AAA bond rating.
The new Land Rover/Jaguar dealership opened in early December. Land Rover, which is the village's single largest sale tax generator (9 percent of the village's sale tax revenue), was considering relocating to Clarendon Hills or Westmont. We structured a 15-year agreement with Land Rover to move to the vacant GM Training Center site on Ogden. The addition of the Jaguar dealership alongside Land Rover will provide yet more sales tax revenue to the village. We need to keep existing tax-generating businesses and encourage more such businesses to locate in our commercial areas to continue to provide top-quality services to residents.
The redevelopment of the former Amlings property at Monroe and Ogden is underway, with the Kensington child care facility slated to open in early 2020. The remaining parcels on this site will be developed with single-family homes. The village, through a partnership with Kensington and with the cooperation of neighbors, was able to resolve the decades-old flooding problem on North Madison Street. This project consisted of installing an underground storage tank and adding new sewers, which are now operational.
Hinsdale Meadows, the empty-nester development on 55th and County Line, is taking shape with 17 units either sold or under contract.
The Board remains committed to minimizing the impact on the village of the widening of I-294. We continue to work with the Tollway to address residents' concerns with this project. The village remains optimistic that we will be able to maintain, and possibly enhance, our revenue stream from the Oasis following the widening of I-294.
I want to thank the board members and the village staff for all their hard work in 2019.
Happy Holidays!
- by Tom Cauley, village president
