01-05-2025
Pontiac misses out on $2M state grant to revamp downtown but says the project will go on
The city's plans to give Madison Street in downtown Pontiac a makeover with road resurfacing and new sidewalks got some bad news recently that will affect how fast the project gets done.
The city applied for a $2 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity but will not receive it this year.
The funds were part of a $30 million award from the Rebuild Illinois Downtowns and Main Streets and Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery (RISE) programs.
Pontiac wanted to use the money to upgrade downtown sidewalks and streets in an area west of North Chicago Street to North Oak Street.
'The basic plan was covering four blocks, altogether,' Mayor Bill Alvey said. 'The northside would be the primary focus.'
More: Illinois 116 is being redone in Pontiac. Here's what you need to know
According to City Administrator Jim Woolford, the money the city was requesting was going to be spent on street resurfacing and addressing the width and slopes of the sidewalks along Madison Street.
The city is still looking at the project, Woolford said, but it will have to be done in parts over time, which poses a design challenge.
'We want it all to look the same,' he said. 'That's going to be the key that the design fits with the overall scope of the plan.'
Although it had been two lanes in the past, Madison Street has been one lane for a few years. It has angled parking on both sides.
'If we widen the sidewalks, it would happen on the sidewalk and not into the street,' Woolford said. 'There might be some parallel parking on one side and angled parking on the other. But that final plan hasn't been determined.'
The plan is not defeated, Alvey said.
'We will revamp our ideas and move forward,' he said. 'It's in a TIF district so there will be TIF funding at the moment and other grants that we are pursuing to enhance and improve the flow of traffic downtown.
"It's still something we have in the planning stage. We'll keep working on it.'
Erich Murphy is a reporter at the Pontiac Daily Leader.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Plans moving forward despite city missing out on grant
