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CITY OF WEST CHICAGO
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
ITEM TITLE:
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
Downtown Investment Program
FILE NUMBER:
Ordinance No. 24-0-0044 COMMITTEE AGENDA DATE: November 11, 2024
COUNCIL AGENDA DATE: November 18, 2024
STAFF REVIEW: Kelley Chrisse, AICP, CEcD SIGNATURE lat Chur
APPROVED BY CITY ADMINISTRATOR: Michael
eniinen SIGNATURE
ITEM SUMMARY:
Private property investment improves the overall aesthetic, quality, and vitality of the downtown and
the City as a whole. Renewed investment in the downtown increases the opportunity for redevel-
opment, whereas a lack of private investment can effectively hinder (re)development efforts.
Unfortunately, there has been a lack of investment and in some cases general maintenance on
private structures in the downtown. Additionally, there are still a number of commercial vacancies
in the downtown resulting in less activity in the area. Despite the existing Fagade Improvement and
Retail & Restaurant Grant Programs having been around for many years, they are underutilized.
Based on conversations with property and business owners, reasons they have not used the grant
programs include lack of funding availability, amount of time required to obtain grant approval, “dif-
ficult” approval processes, need for three different estimates, and lack of interest by multiple con-
tractors for small projects.
The proposed Downtown Investment Program combines the Fagade Improvement and a portion of
the Retail & Restaurant Grant programs related to physical property improvements to streamline
the application process, provide flexibility in funding, and incentivize certain improvements/projects.
As a way to overcome barriers to participation, the Downtown Investment Program includes:
Increasing the maximum funding amount for projects to encourage greater private investment;
Allowing projects to include interior and/or exterior improvements with consistent requirements
under a single program;
Categorizing improvements with corresponding reimbursement amounts based on the ex-
pected long-term impact;
Encouraging larger, more comprehensive projects but allowing funding for smaller, property
maintenance projects at a lower amount;
Providing additional funding for historically significant properties that are making major and/or
minor improvements; and
Granting authority to the City Administrator, or designee, to approve maintenance items and
streetscape improvements to reduce the approval timeline for smaller projects.
In an effort to streamline the submittal process, Staff will combine the Downtown Investment Program
and Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) applications, which will be available digitally. The re-
sponses provided on the application will determine what other questions need to be answered.

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This approach is intended to minimize unnecessary questions and avoid duplication between differ-
ent application processes.
To generate interest in these types of projects by the local businesses, Staff will be reaching out to
contractors located within West Chicago and others that have done work on properties in the down-
town. The contractors will be provided with an overview of the program and grant process, upon
which interested contractors will be added to a participating contractor list that will be made available
to potential applicants. This effort is intended to create a network of contractors and assist appli-
cants in their efforts to obtain estimates, but the selection of a contractor would remain the appli-
cant’s responsibility.
The proposed Downtown Investment Program has been unanimously recommended by the Eco-
nomic Development Commission (EDC) at their October 22, 2024 meeting. Additionally, the EDC
has recommended a budget for FY 2025 of $125,000 to be funded from the Downtown TIF #2
Fund, supplemented with funds from the General Fund until such time as the TIF Fund has suffi-
cient increment to cover the approved budget for the Downtown Investment Program. This budget
request has been included in the draft budget for consideration. As the current Fagade Improve-
ment Grant Program is codified, the prepared ordinance repeals the applicable Article.
ACTIONS PROPOSED:
Consideration of Ordinance No. 24-O-0044 to repeal the Fagade Program and approve the Down-
town Investment Program.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
Development Committee members voted 6-0 in support of the Downtown Investment Program.