Because the Chicago Bears and village of Arlington Heights leaders take into consideration the soccer crew’s behemoth, multi-billion dollar plan to redevelop the Arlington Worldwide Racecourse website the Bears simply recently purchased, town’s downtown house is excessive of ideas for leaders and some enterprise homeowners already there.
For Chip Brooks, who owns the keep music venue and restaurant Hey Nonny, downtown Arlington Heights is unique on account of “we don’t have numerous outsiders right here.” For him, the dominance of locally-owned firms throughout the house items the village’s industrial district apart from its neighbors.
The Bears’ official purchase of the earlier horse racing website, two miles north of downtown, has launched that distinguishing native character into even sharper focus for Brooks. The land sale is the 1st step throughout the means of making what would possibly presumably be a extremely large neighbor to the prevailing downtown.
The village has already approved a pre-development settlement with the Bears, and the crew’s proposal for an estimated $5 billion mixed-use enchancment would include a domed stadium, luxurious residential objects, an leisure district and retail home.
Brooks and completely different enterprise homeowners are trying ahead to what they consider the eventual redevelopment of the racecourse with a mix of apprehension, curiosity and optimism as a result of the NFL crew and the village take into consideration plans for the 326-acre property.
Ought to the soccer crew’s redevelopment plans proceed at Arlington Park — as a result of the racecourse could be recognized — the question for Brooks is “are there sufficient individuals within the space that will feed these leisure districts to maintain them each energetic and profitable?”
Village Enterprise Growth Supervisor Michael Mertes talked about downtown Arlington Heights is at current dwelling to higher than 175 firms, along with about 30 retailers, 30 consuming locations and higher than 50 service suppliers. He talked about ultimate yr the businesses in that house generated slightly below $2.4 million in product sales, and meals and beverage taxes for the village.
Mertes talked about the combo of leisure decisions, along with industrial decisions, retains the district energetic all via the day, with venues like Metropolis Performing Arts Heart and Brooks’ Hey Nonny drawing patrons to the world.
“That stability retains downtown alive through the day and night, and particularly on the weekends,” Mertes talked about in an e-mail to Pioneer Press.
Brooks talked about he doesn’t want what the Bears might ship to “cannibalize” the current downtown.
“In the event you decide that there’s sufficient of an viewers to assist two [entertainment and retail] districts, how do you model and kind these districts in a means in order that they may very well be cooperative, symbiotic?” he questioned.
The Bears’ proposal simply isn’t a executed deal, village leaders have talked about. And any constructing stays to be years down the road, Brooks and others who spoke to Pioneer Press acknowledged.
When the crew’s metropolis planners launched the renderings to the Village Board late ultimate yr, Trustee Jim Tinaglia was skeptical that the village needed one different transit-oriented enchancment when it already had the thriving mixed-use house throughout the Metra tracks.
“I can’t purchase into this web site plan,” he talked about. “I can’t purchase into what it means and the way detrimental I feel it is going to be for our companies downtown.”
Months later, at an April board meeting, completely different trustees echoed these points.
“We have now such a vibrant downtown proper now,” Trustee Robin LaBedz talked about. “And I wouldn’t need something to occur that will hurt them, or would hurt the variety of patrons they’d have.”
“The plans that the Chicago Bears soccer membership are going to undergo us are going to be very voluminous,” Trustee Richard Baldino talked about April 3. “I feel we’ve got all voiced that concern at one level or one other about competitors with the downtown along with different issues.”
He talked about an upcoming step for trustees shall be analyzing analysis from the village’s monetary enchancment advisor and for the Bears themselves to begin determining whether or not or not the crew’s plans will pose “direct competitors” to current firms.
“I feel the general settlement is that the enterprise space issues, and we would like it to remain robust,” talked about Trustee Nicolle Grasse.
Selling and promoting and advertising and marketing the prevailing downtown as a result of the Bears’ plans roll on was a critical matter at a present meeting of the Arlington Heights Financial Alliance as a result of the group’s membership thought-about what they wished to ship of their biannual letter of priorities to the Village Board.
Armed with espresso and donuts at about 7:30 a.m. on a vibrant March morning, precise property agent and Arlington Financial Alliance Chair Andrew Stengren talked about he’s a “huge fan” of the Bears’ proposed problem.
“I feel it’s going to be superior, however I simply wish to guarantee that we hold our downtown district thriving,” Stengren talked about.
Alliance member Heather Larson talked about even when the world doesn’t in the end host a model new NFL stadium, the data regarding the crew’s potential arrival throughout the village has been an important inflection degree.
“Arlington Heights is now a nationwide identify, which is such an incredible alternative,” she talked about. “It’s a really thrilling time, even when we don’t get the Bears.”
Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce Director Jon Ridler talked about he must see as many people give enter on promoting and advertising and marketing and branding efforts as potential.
“The extra concepts, the higher throughout the board, as a result of it is a gigantic enterprise,” he talked about.
Larson recognized that the sorts of firms to seek out throughout the mixed-use district proposed by the Bears would likely be fully completely different from what’s provided now throughout the village’s downtown house.
She predicted “there’s going to be TGI Fridays and Hooters and $12 Miller Lites … it’s a distinct surroundings,” she talked about.
Ridler later talked about in an e-mail to Pioneer Press that the proposed enchancment would possibly provide options for independently owned firms alongside nationwide chains.
“Having a combination can be helpful to locals and guests,” he talked about. “The distinctiveness of our downtown comes from its geography and specialty eating places and retailers. That gained’t change with new growth elsewhere within the village.”
Larson’s assertion rang true for Heather Henkel, who owns a Kilwins ice cream retailer on Campbell Road. She anticipates that any mixed-use district on the racecourse may very well be “sectioned off” and occupied by greater chains.
“That is natural down right here,” she talked about. “On the market, you’re going to have greater characters.”
Henkel simply isn’t concerned about an incipient retail district diverting enterprise from downtown.
“The racetrack has been on the market for the way lengthy?” she talked about. “The monitor was a big venue, 1000’s of individuals. I view this as type of being the identical.”
“The one distinction,” Henkel talked about, is that “sure, there shall be a number of extra eating places and different issues on the market.”
She acknowledged that some native entrepreneurs actually really feel the have to be further involved in proceedings related to the Bears’ redevelopment plans and he or she doesn’t “negate their issues by any means.”
However Henkel talked about she’s seen nothing to make her concerned however.
“I’m not an enormous worrier,” she talked about. “I’ve a enterprise to run. I’ve different issues to fret about.”
Throughout Campbell Road, Danielle Kuhn talked about it’s onerous to say merely however what the Bears’ land purchase will suggest for enchancment outside the village downtown house. However regardless of happens, she must see the village proceed to assist the prevailing retail and leisure district.
Kuhn held out for 4 years for what she thought-about the correct location sooner than opening her farm-to-table restaurant Scratchboard Kitchen on account of she felt so strongly about opening in a walkable environment.
“It truly is the middle of every part,” Kuhn talked about of the downtown house, seated subsequent to a glass case of Fortunate Appeal scones, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and Irish soda bread.
She is assured that the Bears is just not going to duplicate the “household pleasant and quaint” actually really feel of the prevailing downtown.
“What downtown will present could be very completely different from what that space will present,” Kuhn talked about.
Nonetheless, Kuhn talked about she is looking for to check further about what the occasion will ship to the racecourse website.
She’s participated with Brooks and completely different enterprise homeowners in conversations with Arlington Heights leaders about one of the simplest ways to ship further events to downtown and advertise further efficiently to residents of the village and previous.
“Now that the Bears are within the image, it’s much more essential,” she talked about.
Kuhn and others moreover knowledgeable Pioneer Press they take into account village leaders will make picks that assist the prevailing enterprise neighborhood.
“I belief that the village and our neighborhood sees worth in what our domestically owned eating places convey to the village and I don’t suppose that’s going to go away,” Kuhn talked about.
Village Supervisor Randy Reckaus was quick to make the similar degree.
“One of many issues that we’ve mentioned proper from the start is we would like any growth that happens there, whether or not it’s from the Bears or another person, to be complementary to our present companies in our downtown and elsewhere,” he talked about.
Discussions with downtown enterprise homeowners have been productive thus far, Recklaus talked about, and have ranged previous the Bears to Arlington Alfresco and completely different factors that impact the district.
Nonetheless, Recklaus added, “it actually isn’t going to be the one mechanism we use to speak to of us about this mission because it unfolds. There’s going be numerous alternatives for public enter for companies and residents alike.”
The specifics of those public enter options are “nonetheless being designed,” he talked about. “We wish to have some issues that the general public can reply to.”
Brooks shall be paying shut consideration to the proceedings, he talked about. Regardless of his points about what the Bears plans for the racecourse would possibly suggest for the downtown house, he has “numerous religion and confidence” throughout the village administration and staff as they navigate the redevelopment course of.
“These are wildly tough and complex points,” Brooks talked about.
However whatever the complexities, he sees a Bears arrival throughout the village as a instant to imagine and plan ahead: “It doesn’t matter what, our downtown must step up its recreation.”
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