The Village of Manhattan received input from about 35 residents and stakeholders at a design input event, which showcased various architectural design options that could be implemented into future downtown design guidelines.
“The idea here is that these guidelines will help inform any repairs, future development. This will help you. They’re all asks — they’re not mandates, they’re not ordinances, not rules. It’s just a way to say these are things we’d like you to consider,” said John Stryker, Farnsworth Group’s Senior Architectural Manager.
“If you’re going to replace your siding, maybe this would help you inform your color selection or type. No one is obligated to do that, but the other side is that the village is looking to incentivize people so they may be able to offset the cost of some of those repairs or replacements if it’s within the guidelines,” Stryker explained.
This way, there is a benefit to using the guidelines developed from the public’s input.
The open-house-style event occurred at the Manhattan Township Building, from 10 a.m. to noon, and again in the evening from 6 to 8 p.m. A third session gathered input from the Manhattan Historical Society.
Several village and township officials attended, except Mayor Mike Adrieansen, who said, “I didn’t want people to be afraid to speak freely. It’s to really try and get residents’ input.”
Residents Express Their Wishes
Poster boards were spread throughout the room, offering residents a glimpse at styles of awnings, murals, window casings, building facades, building heights, and more.
Comments were encouraged through Post-it notes and sticker dots. Pink stickers indicated a person hated the option, green stickers indicated they loved it, and yellow indicated they felt neutral.
Emilie Harvey attended with her young daughter, Eleanor. Harvey said she learned about the event through a post on Facebook and was happy the village was doing it. She had hoped more people knew about it, but added, “At the same time, the onus is on the resident to stay informed.”
“I think it’s exciting to potentially have more of a quaint, historic feel to our downtown. Right now, it’s kind of disjointed with newer strip malls. I love how downtown Frankfort is and how it is still charming, and they honor the history of the buildings, keeping that feeling,” Harvey explained.
“I’d love if they could achieve that here,” Harvey noted, as she looked over the poster boards presented.
According to officials present, about half of the total attendees attended the morning session.
Designing for Aesthetics and Traffic Calming
The Farnsworth Group’s Director of Municipal Services, Ken Chastain, attended with several other representatives to field questions and offer explanations to attendees.
Chastain isn’t just in charge of the project — he’s also a Manhattan resident, giving him a keen sense of the community that outsiders might not have.
“The mayor said we really want to draw attention downtown and see our downtown thrive, so what can we do to create a plan?” Chastain said of how the Farnsworth Group initially got involved.
Chastain explained the intent is to provide some next steps for implementing that plan, so any guidelines implemented keep the historic aesthetic and align with what residents want to see.
It’s not just about making it look pretty — Chastain said some ideas would be part of a traffic calming plan, where design features intentionally slow down traffic.
“The village received a federal grant to study the safety on Rt. 52 with the trucks, to reduce truck traffic and do what’s called traffic calming. So we’re going to study some ideas to slow the traffic down, create a more pedestrian-friendly area, and then go to IDOT and say, will you help us do these things to make it safer so people want to come downtown,” Chastain added.
Feedback Important to All
Residents filled in and out of the township building, reviewing the design options and assigning stickers according to their preference. Residents weren’t shy, either — one note proclaimed, “Building murals are very ugly.”
Getting resident input was important to everyone — not just officials, but residents themselves.
“I think it’s great we’re being allowed input as to our future, rather than just somebody coming in and making a decision and not asking us who live here, pay taxes here, and raise our families here,” Manhattan resident Susan Hausser stated.
She attended with her husband, Larry, who added, “And you have to hope the input is acted upon then, if the majority of the citizens here like something or don’t like something that they go along with the wishes of us that see it every day.”
Manhattan resident Holly Barajas, also a co-owner of Manhattan’s coffee shop, Peaceful Grounds Coffee Company, attended the evening session.
Like the Haussers, Barajas expressed satisfaction with the village offering the community the chance to provide input.
“I feel like you see that all the time where they don’t, and it’s important to give the community a chance to provide input,” Barajas said.
“I’m really interested to see what design is going to come to fruition. I like that they show a lot of things with windows, and I think letting natural light in is a really good idea,” Barajas said.
“I don’t like too many colors — I’d hate to see it clash together. If you wanted to do multiple colors, narrow it down to ones that complement each other,” Barajas said when asked what she wouldn’t want to see adopted.
Manhattan residents Claire and John Clifford attended after hearing about the event online.
“I like that we get to have some input on what could potentially be going in with the new buildings. I’m excited to be able to participate in it,” Claire Clifford said.
Her husband, John Clifford, said, “I was surprised when Claire texted me. She was like, look, they’re actually looking for input. I didn’t know we were going to have this much input on something like this.”
“There was one storefront that stood out to me. I thought it looked really nice — really fresh but also timeless. I liked the ornate details on it. I think it could really spruce up the downtown area,” Claire Clifford added.
If someone missed the event, they should check the village website for a survey link. The link was not live at the time of publication, however.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.
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