It was a one day “charette” — architect speak for drumming up a project in a small period of time — that led to a vision for the future of downtown Morton.
A design team, comprised of design and landscaping professionals from Morton, spent a day together brainstorming different ideas for an improved downtown identity.
“We devoted a day of just tackling the assignment of facade improvement downtown,” said Jeff Keach, downtown design team member and owner of Keach Architectural Design.
For months, the Morton Economic Development Council, along with the cooperative efforts of downtown business owners and various local architects and designers, has considered the potential of improving the look and feel of not just downtown, but also various retail areas in Morton.
Monday, village board trustees got a taste of what has been considered, with blueprints and drawings to boot.
Keach, along with Nate Parrot of AECOM, Bruce Brown of Farnsworth Group and Bill Aupperle of Aupperle Construction, presented the designs together, explaining that they wanted to have a vision before pursuing anything in full.
“We looked at facade improvement, really, as a piece of the puzzle,” Keach said.
The design team, which includes Jennifer Daly of the MEDC; Sarah Joos, Jim Roecker and Parrot of AECOM; Rob Lamberson and Brown of Farnsworth Group; and Keach, considered different suggestions made by business owners in Morton to come up with the designs.
Greg Nichols of Ameriprise Financial, Sam Parrot of Envision Insurance, Herb Roth of Roth Grain Co., Vicky Taufer of VGallery and Brent Wassi of Wassi Group were all participants in the planning process.
The designs are far from a final plan, but they are a step in the right direction, Keach said.
The design team volunteered its time one day and came up with a new look and feel for downtown, as well as various facade improvements for local businesses.
“It’s a cartoon of a fun day,” Keach said. “People were wanting some sort of a plan.”
The team took suggestions from downtown development planners and finished several drawings that reflected some of the participants’ desires.
Designers considered various factors, including access, safety, aesthetics and landscaping. They also took into consideration the desire for downtown to be trans-generational, welcoming, maintainable and unique. The idea was to create something that would give downtown Morton and identity.
Various features made their way onto the downtown concept plan, which shows suggestions for colored sidewalks, more trees, expanded sidewalks and improved lighting.
