Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish (Saints JFX) has engaged the Lakota Group, with the support of OKW Architects and Kimley-Horn, to prepare a cohesive Master Plan for the Parish in Wilmette, Illinois. The Saints JFX One Plan will serve as a forward-thinking vision to strategically reinvest in the right balance of academic, religious, recreation, and social spaces and allow leadership to budget and identify opportunities for funding of these initiatives. Collective dialogue with the broader communities of leadership, faculty, parish members, students, families, and other interested stakeholders is critical to develop a long-range action strategy to reinvest and improve both internal and external facilities. The final master plan will integrate the Saints JFX community voice into realistically achievable plans, balanced programming and operational improvements, and a clear timeline for implementation.
Phase 1: Engage (January-May)
The focus of Phase 1 is to establish a dynamic “community” planning process that involves a wide range of stakeholders, including church and school leadership, to create a comprehensive information base to facilitate discussion and understanding of existing conditions and opportunities. The information and maps produced during this phase will determine and clearly define the Parish’s strengths, weaknesses, constraints, and opportunities, as well as form the basis for the master planning process.
Phase 2: Analyze (May-August)
During Phase 2, the Team will take all data, benchmark summaries, and consolidate the information into a simple State of the Parish Report. During this phase, the Team will also further examine and focus more specifically on existing site and building conditions, opportunities, constraints, and issues. Lakota’s planning and landscape architecture team will work closely with our architect/building/traffic team members and Steering Committee to evaluate more fully each of the campus’ facilities and develop a simple facility analysis, which will be part of the State of the Parish Report.
Phase 3: Envision (August-December)
During Phase 3, the Team will conduct a series of internal visioning sessions with the project team and Steering Committee, create and refine concepts and develop associated budgets for each Parish initiative. Additionally, we will host Open House events where the community can discuss and share ideas. This phase will culminate in the creation of a Final Master Plan direction that will include proposed site, building or operational enhancements, options, and strategies for both campuses.
For the Saints JFX master planning process, the Parish is hosting two Visioning Town Halls to share initial concept studies that illustrate exciting opportunities and enhancements for the Saints JFX One Plan. Both Town Halls will cover the same information and will be in an informal open house layout with a rolling introductory presentation to give people context about what the Saints JFX One Plan is all about! Feel free to drop by one or both events, any time between 6:30pm and 8:30pm – presentations will run every ten minutes starting at 6:30pm.
When & Where:
*Note locations have changed from the church to the gymnasium!
What We Will Cover:
Town Halls will include both informational and interactive exhibits, to provide you with the opportunity to learn about the planning process, explore concept studies, provide input and ideas directly on the exhibits, and actively contribute to shaping the future of Saints JFX.
We need your input! Bring the whole family, this is a family friendly event. Come explore with us and spread the word to neighbors and friends.
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All project exhibits, drafts, and final reports will be available for download below. Please check back for more information!
The Lakota Group is leading this Master Planning Process. They have 30 years of experience in urban design, planning, landscape architecture, community engagement, and historic preservation. Learn more >
OKW Architects is the team facilities architect. OKW Architects enhance and celebrate the integration of architectural, interior design, landscape and land planning expertise within a diverse group of market types. Learn more>
Kimley-Horn is the team traffic planner and engineer. As one of the nation’s premier planning and design consulting firms they offer full services including transportation planning and consulting. Learn more>