Seven (7) Focus Areas have been designated along the Corridor, for which specific design solutions have been developed to demonstrate the applicability and inter-relationships of the Character District Principles. Generally speaking, Focus Areas exhibit a particular condition or set of conditions that make them ideal “prototype” locations for the depiction of desirable physical improvements that can then also be replicated elsewhere along the Corridor. Focus Areas include areas of the corridor which may be subject to significant land use change in the future, areas where one Character District transitions to another, areas that encompass significant activity generators, and/or locations the offer an opportunity to establish municipal gateway or image treatments. The three (3) designated Interchange Gateway encompass the interchanges between 159th Street and I-355, I-57 and I-294, respectively. The location and general extents of each Focus Area and Interchange Gateway are identified in a set of Key Maps – Corridor Character Districts and Focus Areas (1.2MB).

The Focus Areas are comprised of:

Focus Area 1: Planned Commercial

located in Homer Glen at the intersection of 159th Street with Bell Road as it extends north and south with an offset intersection, in an area slated for significant large scale commercial and business park development in the coming years.

Focus Area 2: Residential to Commercial Transition

located in Orland Park at the intersection of 159th Street and Wolf Road, in an area that encompasses recent and pending commercial development adjacent to an established residential neighborhood.

Focus Area 3: Civic Destination

located in Orland Park at the intersection of 159th Street and 108th Avenue and extending east to the Metra SouthWest Service Line tracks, in an area where varied land uses require sensitive connections- including commercial, residential and institutional uses.

Focus Area 4: Large Scale “Auto Row” Commercial

located in both Orland Park and Tinley Park between 84th and 86th Avenues, in an area where 159th Street is dominated by auto dealerships with large scale buildings and parking lots.

Focus Area 5: Commercial to Forest Preserve Transition

located in both Orland and Tinley Park between Harlem and Oak Park Avenues, in an area with significant future redevelopment potential directly adjacent to the Cook County Forest Preserve to the east.

Focus Area 6: Commercial and Civic Gateway

located in Oak Forest at the intersection of 159th Street and Central Avenue, where significant commercial properties sit adjacent to the Cook County Forest Preserve, along the main north-south artery connecting major civic destinations.

Focus Area 7: Small Scale Commercial

located in Markham at the intersection of 159th Street and Kedzie Avenue, where commercial uses at a variety of scales are located at the major municipal crossroads that provides access to major civic and recreational destinations to the north and south.

A unique concept for incorporating “Complete Streets” strategies along 159th Street has been developed for each of the Focus Areas, based upon the application of the Character District Principles. In addition to the Focus Areas, all three Interchange Gateways have been assessed in more detail, with a particular emphasis on gateway treatments and pedestrian and bicycle connections within these higher-speed and automobile oriented environments. For the Interchange Gateways, alternative treatments that reflect potential phasing options have been prepared for both gateway landscape and signage treatments and overpass enhancements. The Focus Area and Interchange Gateway Concepts(6.4MB) section of the Plan includes these concepts.