The need for retail development didn't just happen...

The recent discussions about economic development in the village have, to say the least, been enlightening.

                They could serve as transitions from the now vaporized “downtown proposal” to the upcoming village election.

                But they shouldn’t.

                While it’s likely some candidates may focus on the proposal-formerly-known-as-downtown, which would have ruined the golf course and kept the village from getting the PGA tour, the reality is that it is no longer the issue.

                Good-bye, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, good bye, hasta la vista baby.

                That’s why presentations by Chris Stilling, the recent acquisition to the village manager’s office have been, in many ways, a breath of fresh air.

                One of Stilling’s main functions, if not the main, has been to give Buffalo Grove’s seemingly sagging retail environment a boost.

                And he hasn’t mentioned ‘golf course’ once.

                More than a few weeks ago, I began a series of blogs addressing economic development in the village.  I posed four questions to the village fathers and mother. The first question addressed the developer formerly-known-as-Malk because he was trendy at the time.

                Now however, he’s old news.  As they might say at the bike shop -- Gone with Schwinn.

                So what now?

                The result of Malk taking his plan off the course should not have an impact on future development efforts in the village.

                “It may cause owners/developers to re-evaluate their assets in BG and push forward any of their rehabilitation and/or expansion plans to accommodate the realized needs or desires of Buffalo Grove residents,” Trustee Steve Trilling told me in an email response.  Trilling’s point makes sense, because it appeared, at least in its preliminary and even secondary renderings, that the “instant downtown” had not done that.

                The focus of bringing the mountain to town may lie in re-evaluating and redeveloping existing areas, best known as corridors.  The village’s targets are likely to be the existing Dundee corridor and development of the Milwaukee corridor, especially at Deerfield Parkway and Milwaukee Avenue.

                Whatever does happen, however, developers with ideas may find themselves under scrutiny.

                Trustee Beverly Sussman said she thinks Malk’s picking up and going home “should not have a tremendous impact on other plans for economic development.”  She noted that there are “many corridors to work on for economic development”. 

                Sussman noted too that “somehow, somewhere, something has to be done with the Town Center. I know we don't own it, but something has to be done to that eyesore.”  The keywords are “we don’t own it.”  So what can be done with the retail albatross?  When you consider that its most successful tenants Binny’s, Burger King, Boston Market and Brunswick’s it may make sense to have more tenants that begin with the letter B.

                People call attention to Town Center because it stands out like a sore thumb. But, as Sussman notes, the village does not own it and unless there’s a magical power of eminent domain that would let the village do something with Town Center, any discussion about the village involvement with it is basically a moot point.

                While some folks seem to have put all the development eggs in the CRM proposal, Trustee Jeff Berman points out that “The need for economic development did not begin and does not end with the demise of the CRM downtown proposal. The village definitely needs to continue to work to diversify and improve its revenue profile. A key component is economic development. On that point, there is neither doubt nor real controversy.”

                This, from my standpoint, is why Stilling’s presentations have been a jolt of lightening in the discussion of economic development.

                Economic development is something that falls into the village regular mode of operation.  Waiting for elections where it becomes “an issue” is not in the best interest of the village or is residents who may be led to believe that the results of an election will result in an instant panacea for economic development.

                It’s more involved than just building a retail outlet.  It takes more than a “Field of Dreams” mentality – just because you build it does not mean they will come.

                In fact, notes Village Manager Dane Bragg, redevelopment can be more complicated than starting a project from scratch.  The reason, he says, is that there are existing traffic patterns and infrastructure constrains that come into play.

                During a recent committee of the whole meeting (also known as a workshop meeting), Board members were told that a key to economic development, or in Buffalo Grove’s case, redevelopment, is looking at available square footage, not numbers of vacancies.

                The key here is the flexibility.  Bragg notes, for example that 300,000 square feet of retail space can be split into “more productive space” for a retailer.  The village’s vacancy rate is approximately in the neighborhood of 15 percent.  For comparison sake, Chicago’s is 8.2 percent.  Statistics, however, can be squirrely things.  Fueling Buffalo Grove’s rate is the 63,000 square foot edifice at Lake-Cook and Arlington Heights roads that used to be known as Dominick’s.  Take that out of the equation and the village’s vacancy rate drops to around 10 percent, which may still seem high, but it’s important to factor in the vacant car showrooms along Dundee Road.

                There’s no quick solution.  Economic development – and redevelopment – is a pain-staking strategic process.  It can be costly too if economic incentives come into place, and with cuts to municipalities being eyeballed by the Rauner administration, it’s possible that incentives will be harder to offer prospective retailers.

                “We always take a careful look at public financing,” Village President Jeff Braiman says.  “We have always been conservative which is one reason we have a AAA bond rating.”

                This enhances the challenge for attracting retail development.

                Whatever approach the village takes, it needs to be forward thinking.   Chuck Malk and his instant downtown are gone.  Nothing is planned for the golf course.

                The key is to look out the windshield and not the rear-view mirror.