Saturday, March 13, 2010

Studies To Zero In On Downtown Marketing, Bringing In New Biz (Journal & Topics)

Studies To Zero In On Downtown Marketing, Bringing In New Biz (Journal & Topics)

Studies To Zero In On Downtown Marketing, Bringing In New Biz (Journal & Topics)

Posted: 12 Mar 2010 08:53 AM PST

Story posted Friday, March 12, 2010

Studies To Zero In On Downtown Marketing, Bringing In New Biz

By CRAIG ADAMS Journal & Topics Reporter

With the hopes of drawing new businesses to the downtown area, Rolling Meadows officials commissioned two studies.

The Feb. 23 vote, coincidentally, coincided with the Chicago convention of the International Conference of Shopping Centers, an event City Manager Sarah Phillips attended.

"It wasn't very pretty down there today," she reported Tuesday evening. She explained that developers and bankers are still being very cautious about new projects. "Where development is occurring... they do have a marketing plan in place," she explained.

The study approved for Goodman Williams Group of Chicago includes redevelopment analysis of the former Dominick's Finer Foods site at Kirchoff Road and Meadow Drive, the remaining parcel at Kirchoff and Owl Drive, and the potential for additional retail in the downtown area. The price for the study will not exceed $27,000. The second study approved for Kane McKenna Assoc. Inc. of Chicago is a preliminary evaluation of various economic development programs the city could use to facilitate redevelopment or improvement of the area. That study comes at a price of between $5,000 and $7,500.

"I don't want to spend $27,000 to do this," Phillips said of the first study. "Without this in place, we will not be able to attract the developers to our downtown area."

Goodman Williams will interview residents and local businesses to try to determine what types of businesses the community will support. The firm will also meet with city staff to review plan statuses, produce an inventory of existing businesses in the downtown, and map existing competitive retail alignments for the downtown and other existing shopping centers in Rolling Meadows and adjacent communities.

Kane McKenna's study will examine the area and investigate what incentive programs the city could use. Options include tax increment financing (TIF), stimulus plan funds, bonds, and tax credits. Phillips said she spoke to a developer at the conference that is building a project in the North Shore. "They have 16 different funding mechanisms to make this project work," she said.

Phillips said the city needs both plans in place to help developers decide what to build and realize Rolling Meadows is the place to build.

"This is going to have to be done," she said. "When they're both done, we're off and running."

The city will use money from the TIF district that includes the old Dominick's site to pay for the studies.

 

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