Politics & Government
Should Dunkin Donuts Come to Downtown Plainfield?
Village wants input on plans to bring a Dunkin Donuts, two other retailers to Route 59 at Oak and Arnold streets.
More than a year ago, the Village of Plainfield asked residents for their input on the future of the Route 59 corridor.
Now, the award-winning Vision for Division website is asking for more specific input: Should the village allow developer Lee Fry to put a Dunkin Donuts at the corner of Route 59, Oak and Arnold streets, near downtown Plainfield?
The plan calls for a 4,600-square-foot retail center with a drive-thru on a half-acre parcel at the corner. The retail center would be adjacent to the Walgreens on Main Street and would include a Dunkin Donuts, plus two additional storefronts.
Village Planner Michael Garrigan said potential tenants for the other two storefronts have not yet been identified.
Village staff is asking residents for input on how the proposal fits into the community's vision for the Route 59 corridor. Click here to share your input.
The website was launched in 2012 as a way to use the Internet and social media to engage the community and get feedback. Visitors to the site can see renderings of the proposed Dunkin Donuts retail center and sign in to share their feedback.
"It's very much in the heart of the Route 59 corridor," Garrigan said, adding that one big question for the village is whether the corridor should be more pedestrian friendly, or auto-oriented.
According to Garrigan, some residents have voiced concerns to the village's Plan Commission regarding additional traffic that could result from the project.
"It's become a controversial development," Garrigan said, noting that the Plan Commission ultimately recommended the village board deny the proposal.
Comments on the proposal will be accepted until April 6. The project is slated to go before the village board for a vote at its April 7 meeting, set for 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 24401 W. Lockport St.
Residents have already taken to the village's Facebook page to sound off on the proposal. A resident of Arnold Street wrote, "There are MANY small children on our street. The increased traffic on a narrow, residential street (Arnold) is dangerous."
"There is a dunkin donuts 3 miles north on 59....... That intersection is too congested already," another resident wrote. Added a third, "This doesn't seem to fit the vision or theme of the downtown area and don't we have enough dunkin donuts? This would not be a good addition or one that would make people proud to show off their downtown." Click here to view the rest of the comments.
Garrigan said consultant CivicArtworks put together the new online survey at no additional cost to the village.
Previous proposals
It's not the first time a Dunkin Donuts has been proposed for the Route 59 corridor.Last May, village trustees heard a proposal to put a Dunkin Donut and mixed-use building at Lockport Street and Route 59, at the former site of the First Baptist Church. The land has been vacant since the church was torn down in 2004.
In 2012, developer Carl Bryant, who owns the First Baptist Church property, also proposed putting a Dunkin Donuts at Route 59 and Main Street; the spot has since been turned into a Starbucks.
What do you think of the proposal?
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