Introducing Homewood’s
Downtown Transit-Oriented Development Master Plan

Click here to download Homewood's Downtown TOD Plan - Existing Conditions Memo

Click here to download Homewood's Downtown TOD Plan - Final Approved Version 

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In 1853, the Illinois Central Railroad constructed a train station and established a town site approximately 25 miles south of Chicago, serving as one of the first passenger stops outside of Chicago. The town site was no more than a few blocks, but these few blocks around the train station quickly became a center for growth that would extend far beyond the original town site. The Village of Homewood continued to grow around this train station, as the station became a hub connecting the southern suburbs and outlying cities south of Chicago to their neighboring global city. Dozens of trains per day connected Homewood with Chicago and other Illinois cities.

Over 150 years later, those same blocks from the original town site make up Downtown Homewood, which is still centered on the same train station built by Illinois Central many decades ago. This station has continued to evolve into a transportation hub for Chicago’s south suburbs, with trains from Metra and Amtrak and buses from Pace Bus connecting Homewood with destinations both in the region and across the country. As the station has evolved (including its complete reconstruction in 2023-2024), so too has Downtown Homewood, which has recently entered yet another era of growth around the historic train station. This is set to continue as many seek vibrant suburban places with easy transit connections to centers with jobs, entertainment, and other amenities. The Village of Homewood is planning for future growth in Downtown Homewood, positioning the Village’s central business district as both a transportation hub and a key center in Chicago’s suburbs. 

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In Spring 2023, the Village of Homewood and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) kicked off the Homewood Downtown TOD Master Plan. Funded by a grant from the RTA, the plan will create a vision for Downtown Homewood to build synergy between the community and Pace and Metra/Amtrak transit services while preparing for additional growth for local businesses, providing new open spaces and amenities for Village residents, and accommodating new living opportunities in the downtown. The plan is designed to continue to develop Downtown Homewood with a focus on “Transit-Oriented Development” (TOD) while maintaining the character and heritage that makes the Village of Homewood, “Home Sweet Homewood.”

This Downtown TOD Master Plan is designed to guide growth centered on Homewood’s reconstructed transportation hub. The planning area encompasses the entirety of Homewood’s historic central business district, extending east from Park Avenue and Ravisloe Country Club, west to Gladville Avenue, north from 183^rd Street, and south to the Dixie Highway rail viaduct. The planning area includes many of Homewood’s most beloved destinations, including Irwin Park, Martin Square, and many locally-owned businesses. 

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So, what is a “transit-oriented development” (TOD)? "TOD" (pronounced tee-oh-dee, not Todd) is a term for development designed with buildings, residents, and businesses within easy access from transit services, such as buses and trains. Generally, transit-oriented developments are designed to create safer environments for walking and bicycling, making connections with transit easier and creating environments where travel is easily without a personal vehicle.

Much of our world is shaped to make destinations accessible by cars, with less consideration given other modes of transportation. This often translates to reliance on automobiles as the only way to get to and from destinations such as work, school, shopping, and home. Transit-oriented development looks at the community to make it easier to get around without a car by walking, bicycling, and using transit to accomplish many daily trips!

The TOD Downtown Master Plan is the village's vision for the downtown area. The plan will analyze Downtown Homewood’s existing assets and make recommendations for physical and operational changes that support alternative transportation options. Recommendations for physical changes will identify future building types, opportunities for reuse and renovation of existing buildings, and changes to streets and sidewalks to better connect people between destinations by walking, bike, and transit.

Is this plan a departure from previous development in Homewood ? No it is not! In fact, this plan mirrors the historical pattern of growth that built the foundation of Homewood. The plan represents a more traditional form of development in cities and suburbs alike. It represents both an evolution into a new era of development and care for Downtown Homewood and a return to Homewood’s historical pattern of growth, investing carefully to conserve and maintain our existing development framework in the Village. 

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A master plan is an important tool for many reasons:

• Creates a shared long-term vision for a specific place.
• Collects ideas and visions from many different people,
• Understands existing challenges and opportunities, and balances competing demands to create a unified collective vision.
• Allows residents to help guide the policies and regulations that will shape the future.
• Provides opportunities for critical conversations about the future of a place.

The resulting plan provides a roadmap for bringing the vision to life. While some ideas may come to life quickly and others may be aspirational goals for future years, the community will create a clear plan for the steps needed to realize a beautiful new vision for downtown Homewood. The plan serves as a critical set of action items and provides a how-to guide for achieving those goals. Our Downtown TOD Master Plan is designed to create a dynamic roadmap for bringing a transit-oriented downtown, serving as a vibrant, sustainable and unifying center for the community to share.

Read updates below about the steps taken to develop the Homewood TOD Downtown Master Plan, in partnership with Muse Community Design and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)

March 20, 2024 - The final draft of the Downtown TOD Master Plan is complete! After months of hard work by planners, consultants, representatives from community agencies, and many members of our community, a final version of the plan became available for review. The plan was launched publicly for download and review, and public hearings to consider the plan are now scheduled for April 11th and 23rd at Village Hall.

The plan is available for download on this webpage! In addition to an opportunity to read the document, there are also many opportunities to provide comments! Navigate to the top of this page and click the button to provide your comments and feedback on the plan! 

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March 5, 2024 - Members of the Steering Committee met one last time to review recommendations for the final plan document. The planning team walked Steering Committee members through the four main themes of the plan, along with the detailed recommendations and planning concepts within each theme. The planning team and the Steering Committee worked together to make minor adjustments based on feedback from transit operators and other local agencies, and strategize how to best share the plan with the residents of Homewood. 

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February 6, 2024 - The Downtown TOD Master Plan team met with the Homewood Business Association to present recommendations and gather input on how to use the new plan to improve the business environment in Homewood. The planning team received valuable insight on topics such as downtown parking, opportunities for new indoor and outdoor uses in the downtown, and new incentives and services to provide for small businesses. The planning team made adjustments to recommendations based on the direct input of the local business community.

The work team has begun to finalize the recommendations for the plan including graphics and designs to be included in the final plan based on public input and best practices. A final draft of the plan is being compiled and should be available to the public for review in March 2024.

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November 7, 2023 - Work on developing formal recommendations for the Downtown TOD Master Plan continued as local community leaders who serve as members of the Steering Committee met, hosted by Village staff and the planning consultants. The community leaders provided invaluable feedback about draft recommendations for the final TOD Master Plan. 

The Steering Committee discussed topics, including proposed development concepts for vacant sites in the downtown area, strategies for managing parking accessibility, streetscaping proposals, and methods for integrating local art and placemaking into the plan. The Steering Committee also discussed pedestrian and bicycle network proposals, addressing areas of particular concern around safety and the ability to access local destinations without a car. Finally, local leaders discussed potential future partnerships between organizations and how to better foster institutions supporting small business growth, improvements to pedestrian and bicycle networks, and the cultivation of local art in the community. 

--A screen capture of a session generating new recommendations during the November 7, 2023 Steering Committee meeting.

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October 17, 2023 - Work is ongoing on the draft set of recommendations. The Downtown TOD Master Plan team met with focus groups to set priorities for the recommendations in the final plan document. The presentation included a preliminary set of recommendations and an introduction to the constraints and challenges in completing downtown planning. 

The focus groups were split into three breakout sessions. Topics included site redevelopment, pedestrian/bicycle transportation, and building new downtown destinations. Discussions in each breakout session were set to determine how to prioritize each of these categories. In the breakout on pedestrian and bicycle safety, group members pointed out key areas where Homewood residents do not feel safe walking or riding a bike, They suggested improvements such as bicycle parking near the Metra station to improve the ability to walk or bike downtown. The second group expressed a need for a grocery store downtown and other retail uses near the train station that support increased residential development. The third group prioritized key areas to make downtown a destination, including renovating Memorial Park, reviving Independence Park in tandem with a development project, and improving Ridge Road streetscaping to be more attractive for pedestrians walking between Irwin Park and downtown.

The focus groups engaged in outstanding conversations that were useful in finding consensus from a wide range of perspectives. 

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September 23, 2023 - Village staff and planning consultants set up at Homewood's Fall Fest 2023 event to collect feedback on how to redesign development sites around Downtown Homewood. The Downtown TOD Master Plan team created activities for local residents to contribute what they would like to see improved as downtown redevelopment continues. 

The event was a fantastic opportunity to engage directly with Homewood residents about how redevelopment sites . Residents shared enthusiasm for seeing redevelopment at the the former Savoia's site on Dixie Highway and the former Citgo gas station site at 2124 183rd Street. Residents also discussed concerns about unsafe pedestrian crossings in downtown Homewood, and shared uses they would want to see in Homewood, including coffee shops, performance venues, bicycle parking, and gathering places. The event set the tone for a revived effort toward public engagement on planning projects in the future in Homewood. 

-- Images from Fall Fest 2023 in Downtown Homewood - Village staff, consultants, and community leaders explore new planning ideas with local residents and visitors.

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August 31, 2023 - Bringing together local artists, businesses, neighbors, and art enthusiasts, the Village of Homewood hosted the inaugural Gotts-Chalk the Walk event on July 23. The family-friendly event featured face painting and beautiful, inspiring chalk art on the pavement surrounding the Gottschalk House in downtown Homewood. Artists transformed the sidewalk into vibrant, pastel canvases. Community members were also invited to contribute their freestyle artwork and show off their creativity, while indulging in freshly spun cotton candy from Von Poof Cotton Candy.

At the event, the Homewood Downtown TOD Master Plan team engaged residents to reimagine downtown Homewood. Additional chalk art was used to spark conversation and ideas to strengthen connections between the train station and downtown Homewood, improving wayfinding, and expanding the range of local businesses. Among the feedback
gathered, residents expressed an interest in increasing food and beverage options and family-friendly entertainment and recreational amenities. Throughout the event, residents were enthusiastic about the future of downtown Homewood. The Village of Homewood is excited to continue to partner with community members to identify improvements for downtown Homewood in the coming months.

 Images of community members participating in Gotts-Chalk the Walk 2023 - residents making chalk art and responding to various prompts about how Downtown Homewood can invest in placemaking and new uses for a vibrant Village center!

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May 30, 2023 - The Village of Homewood is excited to kickoff the Downtown Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Master Plan. Funded through the Village of Homewood and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), the plan will identify development opportunities to shape improvements throughout downtown Homewood. In addition to reimagining new uses for Village-owned buildings and parcels, the plan will identify improved downtown destinations, enhancements to bike and pedestrian infrastructure and create an updated vision for Homewood downtown attractions.  

The plan will be guided by the following community engagement:  

The plan will take approximately 12 months to complete with anticipated completion in March 2024. The consultant team is led by MUSE Community + Design with subconsultants Latent Design and Civiltech Engineering. RTA is providing both funding and leadership to the planning team. Monthly updates will be posted here.