New Urban Redevelopment in Lemont, Illinois

Nice new urban redevelopment in downtown Lemont, Illinois adjacent to the historic I and M Canal.  The development was supported by a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district prepared by Beth Ruyle.

The Illinois and Michigan Canal (I & M) was a public private partnership that greatly facilitated economic development. The canal connected Lake Michigan and Chicago to a fully navigable location of the Illinois River in Lasalle, Illinois.  The Canal is now a National Heritage Corridor and a State Park with the old tow path serving as a bike / hiking path.

"the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 gave Illinois the key to mastery of the American mid-continent. The dream of the canal had animated every vision and under laid every plan for Illinois for 200 years before. As that vision was realized, the canal’s commissioners laid out a canal port that would grow into a great metropolis; their fellow citizens patented agriculture and industrial innovations that would make this the richest economic zone the world had ever seen. http://www.canalcor.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_and_Michigan_Canal http://www.nps.gov/history/heritageareas/areas/ILMI.htm