Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-09-2013, 07:20 AM
 
768 posts, read 1,104,365 times
Reputation: 370

Advertisements

Just saw a mattress chain may open this fall in the former Borders Books space at 1144 Lake St. in downtown Oak Park.

A mattress store in a key downtown location? REALLY? Why not something a little more exciting/maybe a brewery?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-09-2013, 07:21 AM
 
Location: Downers Grove
113 posts, read 145,305 times
Reputation: 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by JJski View Post
Just saw a mattress chain may open this fall in the former Borders Books space at 1144 Lake St. in downtown Oak Park.

A mattress store in a key downtown location? REALLY? Why not something a little more exciting/maybe a brewery?
The older you get, the more exciting a mattress store will become.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-09-2013, 07:30 AM
 
768 posts, read 1,104,365 times
Reputation: 370
This is very sad news in my opinion because it highlights zero downtown development/future here if it is the case...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-09-2013, 07:34 AM
 
Location: Downers Grove
113 posts, read 145,305 times
Reputation: 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by JJski View Post
This is very sad news in my opinion because it highlights zero downtown development/future here if it is the case...
- that depends - take your dates there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-09-2013, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Johns Island
2,502 posts, read 4,436,759 times
Reputation: 3767
Quote:
Originally Posted by JJski View Post
Just saw a mattress chain may open this fall in the former Borders Books space at 1144 Lake St. in downtown Oak Park.

A mattress store in a key downtown location? REALLY? Why not something a little more exciting/maybe a brewery?
LOL! As if Oak Park can control what specific type of retail goes into any location.
They're lucky it's not another nail salon or wig shop.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-09-2013, 09:35 AM
 
768 posts, read 1,104,365 times
Reputation: 370
The OP DDA (downtown development authority) and chamber of commerce should be fighting for anchors – especially in prime locations like this. Is this downtown really going downhill? – We are looking at moving here and these type of poor developments are concerning…
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-09-2013, 09:53 AM
 
Location: Johns Island
2,502 posts, read 4,436,759 times
Reputation: 3767
Quote:
Originally Posted by JJski View Post
The OP DDA (downtown development authority) and chamber of commerce should be fighting for anchors – especially in prime locations like this. Is this downtown really going downhill? – We are looking at moving here and these type of poor developments are concerning…
The fortunes of Oak Park will not be made or lost by that development. When I moved to OP, that building was an empty shell, deserted by Marshall FIelds years ago. It didn't stop proce appreciation or limit the desireability of OP. The reality is that stretch of Lake St has been a tough sell for development since forever. Nail salons, obscure fast food restaurants, and cell phone stores have always populated the last block of Lake St. Don't know why, but other than Barbara's and Borders, there has never been much down that way anyhow.

But none of that ever stopped OP from continuous housing price appreciation - at least until the 2007-08 dropoff, which was not at all related to DTOP.

If you're basing your decision to move to OP on the fortunes of the DTOP area, then I wish you good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-09-2013, 11:55 AM
 
768 posts, read 1,104,365 times
Reputation: 370
Panther, So no hope for DTOP in your experience? Has it at least improved since you have lived there? We are still looking at housing (we plan to buy) and having a nice downtown is very important to us…
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-09-2013, 01:07 PM
 
2,756 posts, read 4,413,441 times
Reputation: 7524
What a waste for that spot.

Some locals had been hoping for a Target at least, if you have to have a chain store. At least that might have a chance of succeeding.

Downtown Oak Park has always been disappointing. Generally, a hodge podge of speciality stores that eventually go out of business and a few chain stores and some old and some new mediocre eateries. At least the movie theater has been stable, but now it's mostly cartoons and block busters. They used to have one of their ?7 theaters devoted to more interesting independent/documentary/foreign films, but now it's one day per month. But I guess that's the direction of Hollywood too...

Of course, I'm generalizing, but those who have been in Oak Park a long time would likely agree.

River Forest has been better about attracting more useful chains/businesses across Harlem. And certainly Madison st. in Forest Park is more interesting in terms of interesting stores with a neighborhood feel. Maybe taxes are just so high in Oak Park that businesses don't come? I feel like the symbol of dysfunctional planning is at Lake and Forest at the entrance to the mall... the deserted lot... from the construction project that fell through...

Honestly, I don't feel like downtown Oak Park needs to be everything.... Oak Park has Trader Joe's and plenty of food shopping outlets, enough decent restaurants to enjoy when you want close and easy, and lots of interesting community/family options. I am happy to make a short drive when I need to shop. Certainly I moved to Oak Park to live... not to shop.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-09-2013, 05:38 PM
 
Location: Johns Island
2,502 posts, read 4,436,759 times
Reputation: 3767
Please keep in mind that the cool part of OP has never been DTOP. The cool area is the Oak Park Ave and Lake st area.

Sent from my SPH-M950 using Tapatalk 2
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:04 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top