By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL – A wine bar will be the first business in Uptown Normal to offer some outdoor seating following Normal Town Council action Monday night.
The Stave at 111 W. North St. will build a so-called “parklet,” taking away a parking space as part of a pilot program that runs through mid-October.
Only councilman Jeff Fritzen voted no, citing safety concerns, but Town Planner Mercy Davison said the “parklets” will be built on raised platforms, and the ordinance requires durable fencing.
“You’ve always got the opportunity that somebody’s going to do something crazy and go up over a curb, but the speed limit in Uptown is 20 (mph),” said Town Planner Mercy Davison.
“There’s already a lot of mid-block pedestrian crossing. There’s kind of a lot going on, so people tend to drive pretty slowly there, which is what we want,” Davison also said.
Councilman R.C. McBride believes the “parklets” will add to Uptown’s vitality.
The council unanimously gave the go-ahead to a north Normal apartment complex, just east of the of Starplex movie theaters on McKnight Street.
The Park at Constitution Trail will eventually include 85 apartments in 14 buildings, five of which are to be built in the first phase.
Town staffers say developer Terry Blake plans to tap into the student market, initially renting four bedroom apartments.
“It’s a townhome style unit, so you come in at main level and go down to a pair of bedrooms and up to a pair of bedrooms,” said Normal’s inspections director Greg Troemel.
“Depending how the first phase goes, which they’re going to do about five of the 14 buildings in the first phase. If the market dictates and it takes off, they’ll do phase two and three and four,” said Troemel.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
