SAVOY (WCIA) — On Wednesday night, the Village Board took a significant step forward in the plan to establish a downtown plaza in Savoy by approving a contract with developers.

The initiative, aimed at creating a plaza at the intersection of West Old Church Street and North Dunlap Avenue, has been in progress for nearly two years. Over the past six months, the board has been negotiating a redevelopment deal with contractors.

On Wednesday, the board approved the agreement with a 5-0 vote.

According to the developers, this approval is a positive development. The project’s CEO, Kyle Kirchhoefer, stated that the contract will provide a clearer timeline for when construction can commence. After engaging with residents through surveys and focus groups, the objective is to create a downtown space that community members will want to stay and enjoy.

“Having a downtown that kind of looks like it’s always been there, but it’s new,” Kirchhoefer said. “Some smaller shops where we can have local businesses that can come in and they want to have their ice cream store, or kids haircut place, or arcade or whatever it might be that we want to build this so it’s feasible for them to do that. We want to have it local for the community.”

The first thing people may see is the demolition of buildings currently on the lot. Once the land is cleared, Kirchhoefer and his partners are hoping to have a community event for people to get familiar with the area.