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Starbucks

Mayor Barrett Pedersen, Trustees and Village staff held a ribbon cutting in June, 2017, to welcome Starbucks to Franklin Park. The popular international coffee retailer moved into a recently-constructed 2,500 SF building at 2800 Mannheim Road, on the northwest corner of Grand and Mannheim. The new retail facility features a drive-thru, an outdoor patio, a bright and spacious interior and nitro cold brew coffee on tap. The new Starbucks is located on a former BP gas station site, which was remediated by the property owner in 2009.

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T-Mobile

The Village is pleased to welcome T-Mobile to Franklin Park. Mayor Barrett Pedersen, Trustees and Village staff held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the business's new facility at 2926 N. Mannheim Road, Unit 3. At their grand opening event, T-Mobile invited employees to shave their heads to raise money for Franklin Park children fighting cancer through the St. Baldrick's Foundation. T-Mobile's brand new space is part of a three-unit, 6,000 SF commercial development recently constructed by Glazier Corporation.

Panattoni Development Company

The Village of Franklin Park held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the largest construction project of 2016: a new 491,089 SF industrial speculative development by Panattoni Development Group at 3400 Wolf Road, the former site of Castle Metals. Over 300,000 square feet of the building has already been leased to distribution firm CST. Panattoni Development Company is one of the largest privately held real estate development companies in the world and has 24 offices in the United States, Canada and Europe.

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Molto Properties

The Village of Franklin Park celebrated the construction of a new 367,000 SF industrial speculative development by Molto Properties with a ribbon-cutting in early November of 2016. The new building at 10501 Seymour Avenue will be followed by construction of a second 106,000 SF industrial speculative building on the same site. Colliers International is currently seeking industrial users for the new space, which is located across the street from O’Hare Airport and less than a mile to I-294 and the I-90 interchange.

Chipotle

Chipotle is open for business in Franklin Park!

Mayor Barrett Pedersen,Trustees Karen Special , John Johnson and Andy Ybarra, Clerk Irene Avitia and Village staff cut the ribbon to officially welcome the new restaurant to the area. Chipotle Mexican Grill is located at 2926 Mannheim Road. Chipotle offers a menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients that are sustainably grown.

Grupo Omnilife SA de CV

Grupo Omnilife SA de CV develops, manufactures, and markets nutritional foods, drinks, and dietary supplements and offers weight-loss products, vitamins and supplements and beauty care products. They are located at 10007 Grand Ave.

Vehicle Stickers On Sale Now

Vehicle Stickers must be displayed on the lower right corner of your windshield by July 1. Passenger car stickers cost $30. Seniors receive one free vehicle sticker per household. Owners of electric vehicles receive a free vehicle sticker and hybrid vehicles pay a reduced rate of $15. Call 847-671-4800 with questions. Purchase a vehicle sticker at Village Hall, via mail for renewals or on-line here ...... !

Tax Appeal Workshop – July 9

As part of the triennial assessment process, the Northern Suburbs, including Franklin Park will be re-assessed this year. If you think that your new proposed assessed valuation is too high compared to similar properties in your area, you can file an appeal. The Assessor’s Office will host a Workshop on July 9, from 6 to 8 PM at the Police Station to assist you. You can also file an appeal on line at cookcountyassessor.com by July 22.

Schedule a Garage Sale

Residents must register with the Village to hold a garage sale. There is no cost to register and a garage or yard sale sign can only be placed on your property. Sales can be held for a maximum of 30 hours within a three day period and sale hours run from 8 AM to 7 PM. To register for a sale, call 847-671-8242, visit the Clerk’s Office at Village Hall or apply on-line at apply on-line HERE

Hazard Preparedness Survey

The Cook County Department of Homeland Security is conducting a study to better understand the preparedness needs and risk perceptions of its residents. Your feedback is needed and greatly appreciated. The questionnaire should only take about 10 minutes to complete. All responses will be kept confidential, and your participation is strictly voluntary. Your input will enable the County to better serve you.

Take the survey here .............

Avoid Street Flooding

We ask for your assistance in helping to avoid street flooding during prolonged periods of rain, like the ones we have been experiencing lately. Please do not blow or sweep your grass cuttings or seeds into the streets. They will clog the sewers and cause a back-up of standing water onto the street if there is a heavy rain. Instead, please sweep cuttings and seeds up and mulch them or bag them for removal.

Thank you for your cooperation on this matter

Village Introduces New WaterSmart Program

Franklin Park residents can sign-up to have access to a program designed to help you reduce your water usage and save money on your monthly water bills. WaterSmart is an online program that allows users to review and understand their water use. Setting up an account is fast, easy and free from a computer, tablet or smartphone.

Users can analyze current water use and also review usage history from monthly figures even down to an hourly use. The program also allows you to set up alerts via text or email to help you detect leaks or other unintended water use. In addition,you to compare your water use with other similar users in your area. WaterSmart is available now but you must enroll to participate by calling 847-671-8252.

Village Offering Trees for Parkways

This spring, the Village will begin planting, at no cost to residents, trees on parkways throughout our community. If you would like a tree planted in your front parkway, contact the Utilities Department at (847) 671-8252. You can read more about our “urban forest” and the need to plant trees in our community at http://chicagorti.org/sites/chicagorti/files/FranklinParkExtended.pdf

Community Garden Space Available

The Village has established a Community Garden located between the Veteran’s Memorial and Village Hall on Belmont Avenue. The Community Garden is open to residents interested in growing flowers, vegetables and herbs this year. Please call Andy Smolen at 847-708-2963 if you are interested in learning more or to reserve a growing space. Please note that if you reserve a space, you must commit to regularly maintaining and weeding the area.

Senior Citizen, Disabled and Veteran Property Tax Exemptions Available

Make sure to check your property tax bill to verify that you are receiving all the exemptions for which you are eligible. Homeowners, 65 and older are eligible to receive a Senior Homeowner Exemption. You must apply annually to receive this exemption. Renewal notices were mailed. Make sure to return the application immediately.

The Senior Freeze Exemption is available if you have an annual household income of $65,000 or less. There are also exemptions available for Disabled Persons, Disabled Veterans and Returning Veterans. To get more information regarding these exemptions, go to www.cookcountyassessor.com and click on exemptions. Homeowners who are at least 65 years of age by June 1 and whose household income is $55,000 or less can apply for the Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferral program.

This tax-relief program works like a loan and allows qualified seniors to defer a maximum of $5,000 per tax year which will not have to be paid until the home is sold. To check eligibility and get an application, go to www.cookcountytreasurer.com.

Quiet Zone Update

The Village has received verbal notification that we have been approved for a $975,000 Pedestrian Rail Safety Grant! The grant will fund a significant portion of the safety improvements needed at the pedestrian crossing at the Calwagner and 25th Street grade crossings and the Metra Station. Next, we will be working with Metra to design and construct the safety improvements. The Village will make street improvements including installing a median barrier at 25th and Ruby. Watch our Village newsletter for updates as we move closer to obtaining a Quite Zone Designation in Franklin Park! .

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Annual Business Appreciation Luncheon

Each year, the Village welcomes business, community and governmental leaders from around the region to our Annual Business Appreciation Lunch. We get the opportunity to thank these leaders for their continued investment in and support of Franklin Park. By working together, we have been able to keep our industrial areas robust and our commercial areas thriving.

I was pleased to announce that the Village continues to flourish with 1.5 million square feet of new industrial development completed in the last year. In fact, the Village has added 4.2 million square feet of new industrial development over the last 10 years. Since 2018, Franklin Park added new state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution facilities and modern industrial buildings. But it’s also an exciting time for retail in the Village. We developed new retail opportunities in the Grand and Mannheim area and welcomed AT&T and Sprint. Soon a Jersey Mikes sandwich shop will be opening there as well. We also had six new restaurants open last year and our retail vacancy is down from 4% in 2017 to 1.5% in 2018.

One of the key characteristics that distinguish Franklin Park from other communities is the availability of skilled workers thanks in part to programs offered at the high school and college levels. Over the next decade, approximately 2 million jobs are expected to go unfilled due to the skills gap. A large number of these well-paying and high-tech jobs will be located right here in Franklin Park. By partnering with the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC), we are creating an effort to link Franklin Park employers with job seekers and vice versa. This effort will be the first of its kind for the region and will focus on educating employers working with millennials and educating millennials regarding job responsibilities.

Franklin Park sits at the crossroads of American business with unparalleled connectivity to move goods and services by air, rail and roadway. That locational advantage makes maintaining and improving our infrastructure critical to our continued ability to create and maintain jobs. Rocco Zucchero, Deputy Chief of Engineering for Planning at Illinois Tollway, updated the luncheon attendees on the progress of the Elgin O’ Hare Western Access Project. He also discussed the new I-490 spur which will feature exit and entrance ramps into Franklin Park, will provide quicker routes to and around O’Hare and will connect to I-294, I-390 and I-90. Also speaking at the luncheon was John Yonan, Superintendent of the Cook County Transportation and Highways Department, who made a presentation on the $340,000 ‘Invest in Cook’ grant awarded to the Village to help reconstruct Franklin Avenue.

Also funding this effort is a $22,900,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Franklin Park came in first in the state-wide competition for this award! The Village also secured a $2,040,000 grant from the North Central Council of Mayors bringing the total funding for the Franklin Avenue Reconstruction project to an estimated $29,620,000.

A Fond Farewell

At the May 6 Board Meeting, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Joanne Rosado swore in Village Trustees Bill Ruhl, Irene Avitia, and Gilbert Hagerstrom. I was pleased to appoint Roberta Johnson to the office of Village Clerk and to thank Cheryl McLean and Jimmy Caporusso for their years of service on the Board.

Mayor Barrett Pedersen