$97K Grant Will Help Fund Oak Forest Shopping Plaza Upgrades

OAK FOREST, IL — A shopping plaza at 159th Street and Laramie Avenue will receive a $260,000 makeover, and an Oak Forest grant will help pay for some of the improvements. Work will include upgrading the strip mall's façade and signs in an effort to fix the plaza some city alderman call an "eyesore."

The City Council approved a $97,000 grant to help fund renovations to the strip mall, which houses Domino's Pizza, The Rockin' Horse Saloon, Stop N Go Liquor and other businesses, according to the Daily Southtown. Under the grant, the city will pay for half of the cost to bring the plaza's signs up to code, and it will be on the line for 33 percent of the façade enhancements, the report added.

“I just feel if we get this eyesore fixed, it will be a good thing for Oak Forest,” council member Denise Danihel (7th Ward) said, according to the Southtown.

RELATED: Oak Forest Budget Sees Water Rate Hike, $300K Shortfall

The grant approval is the culmination of a three-year negotiation between the city and Halikias Family Company LLC, the owners of the strip mall, the report stated. Both parties had been working to determine how much of the cost Oak Forest would be responsible for, and the project could still become stalled if expenses are more than the initial estimates from three years ago, the report added.

RELATED: New Police, Fire SUVs Come Courtesy City Council Budget Move

Barring that kind of financial setback or other delays, work on the plaza is set to be completed by the end of the year, the Southtown reports.

More via the Daily Southtown

The shopping plaza near 159th Street and Laramie Avenue (Image via Google Earth)