The year 2024 is ending but not without a few accomplishment Around the Towns.
In January, coming on the heels of Wal-Mart Supercenter closing in Plainfield, the village was on the verge of another grocery store opening in the community.
Woodman’s Food Market has submitted plans to construct a 240,000-square-foot store at the northeast corner of 119th Street and Route 59 in Plainfield. In addition to the food store, Woodman’s is proposing a fuel center that includes gas dispensers, a convenience store, car wash, and oil change center. The 36-acre site features seven out lots that are available for additional development.
Woodman’s estimates that the proposed store in Plainfield will create more than 200 new jobs and 200-plus temporary construction jobs.
After more than five years of uncertainty, the Village of Plainfield in February finally rolled the dice by approving video gaming in the community.
Plainfield Village Administrator Joshua Blakemore said video gaming is a profitable enterprise for communities as Crest Hill received $205,308 in sales revenue last year. Lockport received $340,000; Romeoville, $400,000; and Shorewood took in $109,039.
The Village of Romeoville had a reason to celebrate as
a new Mercedes Benz dealership opens on Weber Road.
“This will be the first luxury foreign car dealership in Will County,” Romeoville Mayor John Noak said.
The City of Joliet in 2024 partnered with Will County to conduct an African American historic context study.
The Joliet City Council in February learned that the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office has awarded a matching grant of $21,000 to fund a context study of the integral role African Americans played in the history of the community.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources administered the grant. Project goals include documenting Black history in an accurate narrative; acknowledging racial injustice using history; recognizing historic properties important to the Black community; challenging misinformation about the Black experience; and recording Black voices for future generations.
Recognizing that this project needs to include areas outside Joliet limits to be comprehensive and meaningful, city officials sought a partnership with Will County, Joliet Township and Lockport Township as some older neighborhoods like Fairmont, Manningdale and Preston Heights are under the guidance of these governmental entities.
The flurry of activities continues in Joliet as the city and the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau (HCCVB) finalized plans for the installation of six electric charging stations at the Old Joliet Prison and the Route 66 Park at the Broadway Street Greenway.
Per the agreement approved, the costs to install the electric charging stations are eligible to be paid by a grant, as long as it does not exceed $117,000. The City of Joliet will be financially responsible for any amount that exceeds the grant.
The city sought grant funding from the HCCVB to install Level 2 charging stations and transportation through the Illinois Tourism Bureau grant. Motorists and tourists are expected in 2026 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of historic Route 66.
In September, the Village of Shorewood welcomed a new business that was good news for golf enthusiasts.
X-Golf opened a new location at 1004 Brook Forest Ave. (Route 59) in Shorewood. Owner Jeff Bass said the location, which is accessible from I-55, made it a prime spot to open his newest franchise.
A dream came true for local golf fans in September when the first LIV Golf played a pro tournament at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Nearly 40,000 braved the heat to attend the tournament over a long weekend to watch their favorite golfers like, Brooks Kopeka, Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson.
LIV Golf, a Saudi Arabian backed league, set a new single-day record for an event in the United States with more than 15,000 spectators on Saturday, Sept. 14.
The year ended with not so good news in Joliet. Lion Electric, which manufactures electric buses and trucks, announced it was closing their plant at 3835 Youngs Road in Joliet.
This was just a snapshot from highlights of 2024.
