Year in review: 2013 in Oak Park and La Grange

Oak Park and La Grange showed signs in 2013 of awakening from the economic slumber of recent years. Projects that had been stalled - such as an $85 million proposal in downtown Oak Park - found new life, while new proposals - a condominium complex and retail center in La Grange - received support from officials. New leaders worked to establish themselves and navigate the conflicts that have surrounded changes. Each village also had its share of unexpected challenges, with early-summer winds hitting Oak Park and an earthquake shaking La Grange. Here are a few of the year's highlights.

Agave Americana bloom

An Agave Americana plant bloomed for the first time in its nearly 35-year life at the Oak Park Conservatory in late July, only to die hours later when winds snapped it in two.

'Our mighty giant has fallen,' horticulturist Patti Staley wrote on the conservatory's Facebook page following the plant's collapse.

Agave Americana, the species from which tequila is made, grows close to the ground for most of its life, then shoots a stalk high into the air before a bloom - usually an event that lasts two to four weeks.

The plant left a small 'pup' that Staley expects to bloom one day at the conservatory.

YMCA property sold

YMCA of Metro Chicago announced the sale in October of the site of the former Rich Port YMCA, which was located at the corner of La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue. The nonprofit's decision to sell the property to Minneapolis-based developer Opus Development Company for approximately $9 million followed efforts to raise funds for a new Y facility on the lot.

YMCA of Metro Chicago officials blamed the economic downturn for the effort failing. Some local YMCA of Greater La Grange officials said too little was done to try to raise the needed money, and the local board has pressed for the sale money to be set aside for a new Y in the La Grange area, but Metro officials have said they will not do that. The Rich Port Y closed in 2006 and was torn down in 2010.

New Irving Elementary playground

Oak Park Elementary School District 97 completed a $1 million renovation of Washington Irving Elementary School's playground in August. The project replaced the last all-asphalt playground in the district with trees, bushes, a turf field and new playground equipment.

'Instead of being this ugly, dreary, harsh playground, it's beautiful,' Irving Elementary parent Barbara Metric said.

Local soccer clubs, individuals and businesses chipped in more than $100,000 for the project, which had been in the planning stages for eight years.

Earthquake shakes La Grange

A tremor passed through La Grange and neighboring communities in early November, knocking china and art from walls and drawing residents to windows to see what caused the disturbance.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially identified the tremor as the result of a blast at a McCook quarry, but later determined it was a magnitude 3.2 quake. The USGS suspects a blast at the quarry triggered the quake, but Lehigh Hanson, the company that owns the quarry, has disputed that claim, saying the evidence is inconclusive.

Ridgeland Common construction begins

The Park District of Oak Park began a $23.2 million renovation of Ridgeland Common in March.

The project will add a larger ice rink, a turf field, swimming pool features, a new locker room, updated lighting and fencing and other thing to the Lake Street facility. The building's last major update was in 1982, according to the Park District. The project is expected to enlarge the 38,000-square-foot building to 53,000 square feet, and will expand the ice rink to regulation size.

The project's start also meant the end of a popular Dog Park Plus program, in which dog owners could let their pets roam the complex's 130,000-square-foot field on weekend mornings. The installation of turf at the field means the dogs can no longer run there, Park District officials said.