2ND QUARTER | APRIL - JUNE 3322 S Oak Park Ave, 2nd Fl | Berwyn, IL 60402 (708) 788-8100 | info@berwyn.net | @Berwyn@BerwynDevelopmentCorporationBerwyn.netDevelopmentCorporation QUARTERLY REPORT 2022
2022 TIMELINE APRIL - JUNE APRIL Berwyn Shops Paint Day by Sherwin-Williams Drywall 101 with Home Depot - Berwyn Shops Training Event Financials 101 with WBDC – Berwyn Shops Training Event BDC Women in Business Monthly Meeting BDC’s Nonprofit Roundtable Monthly Meeting Harlem/Cermak Business Corridor Roundtable Grand Opening for National Home Mortgage MAY PAGE 1 Coffee & Connections at Juice Vibe Bar Depot District Peer Sharing Event Wallpaper 101 with Just Wallpaper – Berwyn Shops Training Event BDC Women in Business Monthly Meeting BDC’s Nonprofit Roundtable Monthly Meeting Roosevelt Rd Business Corridor Roundtable JUNE Berwyn Shops Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Art in the Park – Berwyn Shops partnership with NBPD Author Visit with 123 Andres – Berwyn Shops special event Safety Training On Site – Berwyn Shops Training Event BDC Women in Business Monthly Meeting BDC’s Nonprofit Roundtable Monthly Meeting Grand Re-Opening Celebration of La Lupita Restaurant
PAGE 2 BDC PROJECTS The Berwyn Beat Newsletter E-Blast Launch date: September 3, 2020 The Berwyn Beat is a weekly newsletter targeting residents and visitors of the Berwyn Area. Each week highlights a different topic that encourages local spending. It gives us another opportunity to engage and support members as we share their seasonal offerings and services. Subscribers: 1,560 Average Open Rate: APRIL: 35% MAY: 41% JUNE: 41% *Average email benchmark open rate for all industries in 2022 was 20% according to Campaign Monitor. Click Through Rate: APRIL: 2% MAY: 5% JUNE: 2% *Average email benchmark click through rate rate for all industries in 2022 was 2.3% according to Constant Contact.
As the Executive Director of the Berwyn Development Corporation (BDC), I would like to welcome you to our 2nd Quarter Report for 2022. Within this report you will find valuable information on how the BDC has contributed to economic development in the City of Berwyn. The Berwyn community witnessed an incredible expansion of educational opportunities, networking events, and innovative programs offered by the BDC in Q2 of 2022. Most saliently, we launched the Berwyn Shops, a retail incubator designed to help artisans, makers, and entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level. This Homegrown Project provides the resources necessary for a pop-up vendor to graduate into a full-blown storefront – a physical location, business education, financial assistance, and marketing support. This inaugural season features 12 women-owned businesses with products ranging from bilingual children’s books and home décor to artisanal jewelry and baked goods. The Berwyn Shops has already become a unique destination, attracting media attention, and generating foot traffic along Roosevelt Rd. In addition to the incubator, the BDC also worked to foster a dynamic economic ecosystem by hosting brand new events, including Coffee & Connections for chamber members and Peer Coaching for business owners within a commercial corridor. We also intentionally increased our outreach efforts, conducting 2 corridor walks, 2 business roundtables, and 2 business pulse check surveys. Outside of e-blasts and social media posts, we directly provided information over 203 times to existing Asbusinesses.aresultof our efforts, we saw increased engagement in our resources both within Berwyn and beyond its borders. Specifically, the BDC committed $29,007.47 in Finish Line Grants to eligible renovation projects in the Depot District. We also facilitated over 113 one-on-one technical advising sessions to business owners in Berwyn and in the surrounding communities, covering topics such as marketing, site location analysis, and access to capital. Finally, we responded to more than 18 inquiries about land, buildings, and zoning from prospective businesses.
LETTER FROM THE
To further expand our programs, the BDC successfully applied for 2 opportunities. First, the Economic Development team was invited to participate in the Equitable Lending Leaders Program, a 6-month series of classes focused on ensuring equity in outreach and lending of our Revolving Loan Fund. Second, on behalf of the BDC, Visit Oak Park was awarded the Route 66 Grant, receiving over $300,000. These dollars will be used to improve signage and public art along Ogden Ave, as well as install electrical vehicle charging stations. We are proud of the business community and of the progress that we have made together thus far in 2022. We hope to carry this momentum throughout the second half of the year. We look forward to what the next 6 months will bring to our diverse Berwyn business community.
DavidSincerely,Hulseberg
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
HULSEBERGDAVID
On behalf of the BDC, Visit Oak Park was awarded the Route 66 Grant, receiving over $300,000. These dollars will be used to improve signage and public art along Ogden Ave, as well as install electrical vehicle charging stations.
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BDC staff reviewed existing incentive programs to make recommendations and provide feedback from the development community. The BDC continued tracking feedback by way of commercial transfer stamps, business licenses, and building permit touches. This information is provided to the City of Berwyn by way of the Vacant Properties Report and Building Permit Report on a semi-annual basis. i.
On June 3, 2022, the BDC launched the Berwyn Shops, a retail incubator for local makers, artisans, and entrepreneurs. The 2022 season features 12 women-owned businesses with a diverse array of products. The Berwyn Shops will be open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from June to mid-December of 2022.
The BDC operates the Commercial Loan, Microloan, and EDA Revolving Loan Fund pools to assist community businesses with financing options.
c.
CONTRACT
Subway - 6301 Cermak Rd - Recived $16,509.50 with the Finish Line Grant Medianoche Cafe - 6836 Windsor Ave - Recived $11,987.50 with the Finish Line Grant f.e.d.
The BDC updated information on Berwyn’s economic profile, including the available properties map, vacancy information to aldermen, and sales tax data in our annual and quarterly reports. The BDC website was also updated to reflect change in resources and policies from national, state, and local guidance.The BDC continued to maintain
Businessc.a. Attraction (New Business Prospects)A.
The BDC provided information to 18 new business prospects on land, buildings, demographics, labor force, housing, education, infrastructure, and other relevant information.
The BDC continued to market the Finish Line Grant Program in Berwyn’s Roosevelt, Harlem, and Depot TIF Districts. In 2022, the BDC set aside $250,000 in the Roosevelt TIF, $250,000 in the Harlem TIF, and $150,000 to the Depot TIF. 1. The BDC committed $29,007.47 in Finish Line Grants though Q2 of 2022.a. Business Retention and Expansion (Existing Business Prospects)B.
Miscellaneousiv.ii.i.v.
The BDC conducted 2 business corridor roundtables, 2 corridor walks, 2 business pulse check surveys, and 1 peer coaching event in Q2. The roundtables focused on the Harlem/Cermak TIF District and the Roosevelt Rd TIF District.
C.
The BDC agreed to perform the following business attraction services to aid prospective businesses and developers:
BERWYN CORPORATION WITH THE CITY OF BERWYN
The BDC continued to maintain a database of all Berwyn businesses and work with the Permit Administrator to collect business licenses.
The BDC retention program identified the needs of existing businesses in the following ways:b.
DEVELOPMENT
The BDC provided information 203 times to existing businesses on economic, demographic, or commercial real estate. Some businesses were contacted with multiple touches, hence the large amount of retention information shared. The primary focus in Q2 of 2022 was providing one-on-one technical advice to both established businesses and start-ups in Berwyn.
i. The Economic Development Team was invited to participate in the Equitable Lending Leaders Program, a 6-month series of classes focused on Berwyn’s Revolving Loan Fund. The BDC renewed its contract as a Community Navigator with the Cook County Small Business Source. As part of the contract, the BDC connects businesses to resources, as well as provides free one-on-one advising sessions to business owners. The BDC team provides 30-45 sessions and/or outreach per week.
E-BLAST MARKETING RESULTS CONSTANT CONTACT E-BLAST 5,900SUBSCRIBERS WHY BERWYN SOCIAL MEDIA RESULTS OPENAVERAGE39%RATE: AVERAGE 9.46%(AVGENGAGEMENTFACEBOOKRATE<1%)(+3%from Q1) TOTAL IMPRESSIONS Q2 199,129 (+33,591 from Q1) AVERAGE 6.26%(AVGENGAGEMENTINSTAGRAMRATEIS1.22%)(Sameas Q1) TOTAL IMPRESSIONS Q2 44,527 (-671 from Q1) FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM 40K50K30K20K10K0 APRIL 58,836 MAY 36,323 JUNE 63,826 SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING REPORT WHY BERWYN SOCIAL MEDIA SOCIALRESULTSMEDIAIMPRESSIONS: 9,468 9,904 8,756 CLICK-THROUGH-RATE:AVERAGE3% HIGHEST PERFORMING POST IN Q2: 41.6K2753.3K2,1251.4KFACEBOOK:VIEWSINTERACTIONSIMPRESSIONSINSTAGRAM:LIKESPLAYSCOMMENTS PAGE 4 FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS23K+1,433 FOLLOWERS5.7K+1,206 Q2 +317 New Subscribers
