Village's Business Booster Talks 'Echo Effect'

A year into economic development job, John Said notes possibilities from revitalizing Dempster Street.

Spearheading economic development in a town that isn't exactly a hotbed of business at a time when the country is crawling out of a recession might sound like a daunting task, but John Said opted to step into the job anyway last May. As the community and economic development director, he said that “Morton Grove has a lot of potential.” “I think it’s important for a community to try to move forward,” Said explained. That’s why residents, business owners and village officials convened recently at a public forum and broke into groups to discuss how to spur business along a stretch of Dempster Street from the railroad tracks to the Eden’s Expressway, a move perceived as an important step toward bolstering business in Morton Grove. Creating a …

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Carrie Porter

10:40 am on Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Thank you for the information, John. As the editor, I went in and posted a correction about the wrong use of the phrase Business Improvement District (BID); the reporter misheard the statement. Your thoughts are really appreciated. Please keep them coming!   more ›

Residents, Officials Brainstorm Dempster Street Redevelopment

Business owners and village officials confront the street's outdated planning model.

The battered condition of Morton Grove's Dempster Street passage took center stage — sometimes in blunt terms — at an open-house meeting  on Thursday night. Hosted by Community and Economic Development Director John Said, the workshop session attracted more than 20 residents and officials, many of whom openly acknowledged the street's dire needs. An "outdated model"  "We're on a corridor that is at the bottom of its economic life," said Nick Marino, a village resident, during the gathering's 20-minute group input session. A 45-minute presentation by Said preceded the collaboration period at the Civic Center, 6140 Dempster St. Said outlined the general history of Morton Grove's main drag, a three-quarter-mile stretch that handles 40,000 …

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David Lewis

12:23 pm on Thursday, May 26, 2011

That is a question which would be better directed to the Public Works department. The street lamps and stoplights on Dempster Street are brand new, not repainted. My guess would be that any painting of street lamps in areas other than Dempster would be done on an "as-needed" basis, not as part of an village-wide beautification effort.   more ›

Company Adds (Creepy) Flesh to Skeleton of Haunted House Proposal

Economic Development Commission hears new details.

Visitors to the local farmers market might soon find themselves face to face with a zombie stewardess or a crazed butcher, if the city approves plans for a nearly 40,000-square-foot haunted house in Morton Grove. Sending its "Broadway quality" characters to local events is one vision the creators of Fear City shared with the Economic Development Commission Monday night for developing a year-round relationship with the village. The actual haunted house will only be open during Octobers. Another is partnering with a local pizza purveyor to sell comfort food for the 1,000 to 2,000 people they hope to scare each night at their proposed location, the former Lawnware warehouse at 8220 N. Austin Avenue. The hope is that 20,000 people will flock …

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Noel

6:44 am on Wednesday, May 18, 2011

That's great to hear! I think residents can tolerate higher than normal traffic for 3 weeks out of the year. . I for one can. Would they be ready to operate of this year?   more ›

Lessons from the Past Decade in Morton Grove

The Impact of Abt on Morton Grove's Budget

The first of five parts: Morton Grove's pre-recession, the loss of Abt.

In 2004, the Village of Morton Grove for the first time began charging for garbage collection, angering residents and sweeping in new Caucus trustee candidates in the April 2005 elections, who promised to try and change that and cut other newly implemented taxes. But when they got a look at the financials, former trustee Georgianne Brunner said, "It was like 'What did I get myself into?'" A full five years before the housing crash and recession kicked in everywhere else, the village was in the midst of a pre-recession of sorts, caused when Abt Electronics and Appliances pulled up stakes and moved to Glenview in 2002. With that business went $1.6 million in sales tax revenue -- a full 30 percent of Morton Grove’s annual sales tax and 10 …

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Lessons from the Past Decade in Morton Grove

Morton Grove's Double Dip Recession

This week, Morton Grove Patch takes a 10-year look at local finances.

For the first time in four years, the 2011 Village budget is balanced. But it is only “precariously” so, according to Finance Director Ryan Horne. Many departments are gutted, other positions remain unfilled, and services are pared back to the point that public works isn’t going to fix curbs or sidewalks this year. Morton Grove is in a particularly bleak financial position because the recession has already been a “double dip,” stretching back 10 years for the Village. That’s when the electronics retailer Abt left for Glenview, taking 30 percent of its sales tax dollars and a full 10 percent of all revenue. In addition, pension obligations for the fire and police departments have skyrocketed in recent years as the village plays catch-up for…

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Morton Grove Wins CMAP Funding

Morton Grove is one of 64 organizations to receive technical assistance from the regional planning organization that covers seven counties.

Industrial parts of Morton Grove are due for a face-lift, and fortunately for residents’ thin wallets, much of the diagnostic work will be free to the village with the help of a $50,000 grant. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) announced recently that Morton Grove’s “Industrial Areas Plan” proposal qualifies as a higher priority project in its Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program. Village officials submitted a proposal to CMAP in January; you can read more about it here.  This means the regional planning organization, with the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will give free consulting and technical help to enact new plans for Morton Grove. According to Community and Economic …

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Jacky Liston

5:06 pm on Friday, March 18, 2011

Well said, Mr. Lewis. I could not agree more.   more ›

Morton Grove Sees Future with CMAP

The Village of Morton Grove submits its application for regional consultants' planning expertise.

With job cuts, tight budgets and rising taxes, it is no secret that Morton Grove has a few economic snags to sort out.  But there may be help on the way with potential assistance from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), a regional planning organization that covers seven counties. Today is the final day for local municipalities, counties, interjurisdictional groups and nongovernmental organizations to submit applications to win staff resources and technical assistance for local planning projects. And Morton Grove put in its bid a week early, according to Community and Economic Director John Said. “I put a lot of prep into the application, and I talked to one of the CMAP folks and she kind of helped me with feedback,” Said …

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Koeller-Boemmel House, Morton Grove's Oldest Home, to be Demolished

The oldest home in Morton Grove makes way for new Homestead development.

Morton Grove's oldest home, the former Koeller-Boemmel house, stands on the corner of Lincoln and Lehigh Avenues. For more than 130 years, it has sat adjacent to the train tracks that it predates. Due to an ongoing development project to revitalize the area around the Metra station, the unassuming little slice of history will not be around for much longer. The Koeller-Boemmel house is slated to be demolished this month to make room for a new 82-unit independent senior living center, the Homestead of Morton Grove. The new building is set to break ground sometime this February. Cook County demolition permits are still pending.   "It's time. Everything has it's season," said Joan Kopinski, 81, who along with her sister Nancy Schlueter, 76, …

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Catherine Peters

11:40 pm on Wednesday, January 5, 2011

My husband and I lived in "the little white house" for 7 wonderful years, beginning when we were first married in 1975. You could tell the time by the train schedule. At night the long freight trains would rock the house gently, and the rhythmic clicking of the wheels on the track lulled you to sleep. We loved to watch in wintertime as the light from the engine cut through the darkness and danced…   more ›

Morton Grove Plans to Dress Up Vacant Storefronts

In response to rising store closures and home foreclosures, the village invests in beautification and construction projects to attract new business.

Since the recent Halloween season, numerous storefront windows within Morton Grove's Dempster Street Commercial Corridor were draped with black sheets. These shops weren't dressing up in deference to the spectral holiday, but instead representing what has become a rather scary trend in this 5.1-square-mile village: store vacancies. In the past two years, restaurants, health offices, and clothing stores have been closing shop due to languishing business activity. In March the village's Community and Economic Development Department reported 85 (out of approximately 700) vacant stores. That residents have less pocket money to move stores' cash registers is shown by the vacant homes on the residential streets hugging either side of Dempster …

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Laura Frisch

1:35 pm on Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Great idea to have art in the windows! Many surrounding communities have done the same with good results. This can lead to art openings, and other interest on the street. As far as foreclosures, our town, as stated is doing better than neighboring suburbs. The resident who spoke of 4 forclosures on her block neglected to mention that two of them were bought and the houses were rehabed to better …   more ›

Coming Soon: New Senior Living Center

Some older residents of Morton Grove await a new place to call home.

After many years of discussion, the Morton Grove Village Board has approved an apartment complex to be built on Lehigh Avenue across from the forest preserve, which will house at least 82 seniors. "I often get calls from seniors themselves, who want to stay in Morton Grove, but can't afford housing," said Jackie Walker-O'Keefe, director of family and senior services in Morton Grove. "They ask me, 'Is there anyplace we can move to?'" O'Keefe said seniors tend to live in condos throughout Morton Grove, which can sometimes be more expensive than what they wish to spend. According to @properties, typically Morton Grove condos range from $300,000 to about $400,000. This means the monthly cost totals about $670 for a 30-year mortgage on a $300,…

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