SAVOY — Savoy marked 70 years as an incorporated village last Friday, with officials there celebrating the town’s growth while looking to continue its development with landmark construction projects.
Savoy became a village on April 10, 1956 following a referendum from residents who wanted to start their own fire department. The town has grown from a few hundred residents to nearly 9,000 people.
Village President John Brown started his career in the area working for the University of Illinois Police Department in 1990. At that time, he remembered seeing large development gaps in the village when he would drive down towards Willard Airport.
“In that time, that whole area has just filled up with businesses and a lot of new subdivisions that come to town and, you know, and you see the growth,” Brown told IPM News.
He said Savoy’s proximity to U of I and reduced tax burden have propelled its population increases.
“With the lower property taxes and the lower cost of living in Savoy as compared to some of the other communities around can be a deciding factor for a lot of people,” he said.
Work continues on new downtown Savoy, Curtis Road underpass
Two major projects remain on the agenda for future development in Savoy: a new downtown and an underpass by the train tracks on Curtis Road.
The village is currently completing demolition work at the corner of Dunlap Avenue and Church Street to make space for a downtown area.
“The intent of that space is to create a sense of community, an area that provides commercial growth, small businesses, small restaurants, establishments that people will want to come to, but also to have residential [properties] … so people can work and live and play right in downtown Savoy,” said Village Administrator Andy Quarnstrom.
Savoy has formed an agreement with the Downtown Development Group to sell them the land and allow them to develop the site. Officials said construction could begin next spring.
Quarnstrom said the project will also include a green space for festivals, farmers markets and other events.
“We think we can create a downtown, and also a vibrant downtown,” Quarnstrom said. “And it will be transformational, I think, for not only Savoy, but for the community too. It’ll be a place where people outside the village come to to spend time.”
The village is also continuing to work on the over $55 million project to construct the Curtis Road underpass.
The project would raise the railroad tracks with a bridge and lower the roadway to keep vehicle and pedestrian traffic separate from trains. It would also widen the roadway and add new shared-use paths to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists.
Savoy is using a mix of state, federal and local funding to complete the project. Officials say they expect the project be completed in the next few years.
“Those are the types of once-in-a-career projects that that get to be done, and I’m fortunate to have come in to the village with multiple once-in-a-career projects that are ongoing,” Quarnstrom said.
Brown said the village has also received grants to create additional multi-use paths for people walking and biking. He said the goal is to eventually create a network of paths to connect Savoy’s neighborhoods.
“When my kids were young and we were moving in back in 2003, we were told about all these bike paths we’re going to have, and we waited and waited,” he said. “So it’s nice to see some of these things actually happening … so it’s an exciting time to be part of the leadership in Savoy.”