Old House Comes Down, but Gateway Park's Stalled
Failure to secure a federal grant and to convince the owner to donate the land have been frustrating, but Michael Bortel said he's going to keep trying.
A building long deemed a village eyesore was torn down Monday, but efforts to build a park on the site remain stymied. The property known as the old Carlton* house at the corner of U.S. 30 and Route 59 was the last roadblock to clearing the .925-acre site that Plainfield Historical Society President Michael Bortel would like to see made into Gateway Park, commemorating the point at which old Route 66 intersected with the Lincoln Highway. However, he was unable to secure a $5,000 matching grant from the National Park Service that would have funded a redevelopment study, the first step in getting the park built. Bortel also said he’s had no success in convincing the property’s owner, G.C. Real Estate of Lincolnshire, that the site – a …
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Jay
10:28 pm on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Mike, what's the name of the oil company that owns the lot? Maybe with enough community pressure in the form of letters, etc., we might be able to convince them that donating the land is a much better idea than waiting years for a buyer. We all know that there a very limited uses for the property, especially with the new intersection. Publish the name of the owner and let's get some community … more ›