Berwyn Development Corporation: 2023 Q2 Report

2023 TIMELINE

APRIL - JUNE

Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting for So Soft Beauty

Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting for Rock ‘It’ Taco

Nonprofit Roundtable meeting w/Shannon Ellison

Women in Business meeting with Imelda Rodriguez

BDC & Morton College Partnership Graduation Celebration of BISB

APRIL

Business After Hours at Michael Anthony’s, Berwyn Wallpaper 101 – Berwyn Shops Training Event

2 Back to Business Grant Info Sessions

Safety Orientation – Berwyn Shops Training Event

Business Corridor Roundtable – Harlem/Cermak Rd

Updated Vacancy Ordinance Approved by City Council

DCEO Cook County Spoke Contract Signed

Launch of Berwyn Sprout Application & Website

BDC Awarded $175,000 DCEO Tourism Grant

45-Year Anniversary Certification Presentation to Berwyn’s Violet Flower Shop

Women in Business meeting at W3Body – A Women’s Gym, Berwyn

BDC Presented Iskali with a Philanthropic Grant

Membership Meeting at the Berwyn Public Library w/Pierre Monice

BDC receives Pay it Forward award from Morton 201 Foundation

Soy Bilingual Speech Therapy Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting

Balance Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting

Berwyn Shops Grand Re-Opening – Berwyn Shops Event

Second Saturday & Mother’s Day – Berwyn Shops Event

5 Artists/Musicians on Site – Berwyn Shops Events

2 Berwyn Sprout Info Sessions – Sprout Events

Legal Tips – Berwyn Shops Training Event

One-Month Recap Meeting – Berwyn Shops Event

2 Back 2 Business Grant Info Sessions

Business Corridor Roundtable – Roosevelt Rd

Berwyn Sprout Info Session – Sprout Event

Vacancy Report for July-Dec of 2022 Completed

JUNE

BDC Presented Pav YMCA with a Philanthropic Grant

MAY

Nonprofit Roundtable meeting with Amelia Joseph from Pillars Community Health

Women in Business Meeting with Erin Vogel from State Farm Insurance-Eddy Mulica

Business After Hours at Baird & Warner

3 Artists/Musicians on Site – Berwyn Shops Events

Second Saturday & Art in the Park – Berwyn Shops Event

Father’s Day Weekend – Berwyn Shops Event

Taxes 101 – Berwyn Shops Training Event

First Round of Vendors Selected – Sprout Event

2 Sprout Open Houses – Sprout Event

Business Corridor Roundtable – Ogden Ave

2 Open Houses for Fixture Pick Up – Sprout Event

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

As the Executive Director of the Berwyn Development Corporation (BDC), I would like to welcome you to our 2nd Quarter Report for 2023. Within this report you will find valuable information on how the BDC has contributed to economic development in the City of Berwyn.

Most noticeably, the Berwyn community saw the rapid expansion of Project Homegrown. Specifically, the BDC re-opened the Berwyn Shops with 12 new small businesses, on-site upgrades, and extended educational programming for participating vendors. In Q2, we also helped start two shared retail spaces, Berwyn Boutique and Berwyn Sprout. Located in Cermak Plaza, Berwyn Boutique supports Berwyn Shops’ graduates and Sprout encourages 30+ entrepreneurs to test the local market.

Beyond these homegrown projects, the BDC continued to offer advising, educational, and networking opportunities to Berwyn businesses. Specifically, the BDC conducted over 310 one-on-one advising calls, hosted 3 business roundtables, and facilitated 12 educational sessions. These sessions covered topics such as access to capital, marketing, and start-up support. The team also assisted business owners with grant applications, ensuring that our community is connected to much-needed resources.

We are thankful that our outreach and advising efforts have been working. In fact, $220,000 was awarded to Berwyn restaurants through the DCEO’s Back to Business Grant Program. Additional dollars will be awarded were to Berwyn businesses as applications are still under review. We also committed over $174,000 in Finish Line Grants to renovation projects located in our TIF districts – Roosevelt, Harlem/Cermak, and Depot District.

We are proud of the Berwyn community and of the progress we have made together so far in 2023. As we look forward, we hope to continue supporting the local economy by strengthening partnerships, launching new programs, and facilitating incredible community events in 2023.

Sincerely,

David Hulseberg

Cultivating Community and Growing Small Businesses

Berwyn Sprout is a shared retail space designed to help 30+ entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Located along the bustling Cermak Rd, this homegrown project provides its vendors with the support needed to succeed: physical space, business education, ongoing promotion, and tailored resources!

Set to launch in Q3 of 2023, Sprout provides “Big Box” opportunities with “Shop Local” support. This dynamic combination not only cultivates artisans and makers, it creates the ideal shopping experience. In one convenient stop, shoppers can browse an array of artisanal products - everything from home decor and handmade accessories to seasonal gifts and more!

CONTRACT

A. Business Attraction (New Business Prospects)

a. The BDC provided information to 52 new business prospects on land, buildings, demographics, labor force, housing, education, infrastructure, and other relevant information.

b. The BDC agreed to perform the following business attraction services to aid prospective businesses and developers:

i. 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.

ii. The BDC continued to market the Finish Line Grant Program in Berwyn’s Roosevelt, Harlem, and Depot TIF Districts. In 2023, the BDC set aside $250,000 in the Roosevelt TIF, $250,000 in the Harlem TIF, and $100,000 to the Depot TIF.

a. The BDC has committed $174,200.82 in Finish Line Grants to 18 projects throughout 2023 thus far.

b. In Q2, additional tracking and monitoring measures were implemented for businesses with gaming licenses.

B. Business Retention and Expansion (Existing Business Prospects)

a. The BDC retention program identified the needs of existing businesses in the following ways:

i. The BDC provided information over 14,500 times via email and phone 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 2023 was connecting start-up businesses to educational opportunities and sharing financial resources, such as the DCEO B2B Grant, Finish Line Grant, and Revolving Loan Fund.

a. Note: Information was also shared over social media, resulting in over 40,000 impressions or interactions with BDC’s posts in Q2 alone.

ii. 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.

iii. The BDC continued to maintain a database of all Berwyn businesses and work with the Permit Administrator to collect business licenses.

iv. The BDC conducted over 5 corridor walks, 5 educational webinars, 7 informational sessions, and 3 business corridor roundtables. The roundtables focused on the Harlem/Cermak district, Ogden Ave, and Roosevelt Rd.

C. Miscellaneous

a. The BDC operates the Commercial Loan and Microloan pools to assist community businesses with financing options.

b. The BDC celebrated the successful launch of the Berwyn Shops’ second season with 12 NEW businesses and hundreds of shoppers, residents, and partners joining the Grand Re-Opening Ceremony. In Q2, Project Homegrown also saw Berwyn Shops alumni open on Roosevelt Rd, secure leases in Cermak Plaza, and tour properties in Depot District.

c. The BDC continued 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. In Q2, the BDC team facilitated over 310 advising sessions and received about $75,000 for their efforts.

d. The BDC secured a contract with the IL Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). As part of the contract, the BDC assisted business owners with the Back to Business Grant application, bringing in $220,000 to restaurants in Berwyn.

e. In collaboration with the City of Berwyn, the BDC continued administration of the Vacancy Ordinance. In Q2, the BDC sent notifications to 106 vacant properties. Of the 106, all were inspected, 22 appealed, and 2 registered and paid.

f. In general, the BDC team continues to develop professionally. Of note, the economic development participated in the ITIA, ICMA, and IEDA conferences. The team also took IEDC, Career Readiness, and Spanish classes.

Baird & Warner - 6347 Cermak Rd, Unit B Business Roundtable

Berwyn Shops: A Homegrown Project - 6931 Roosevelt Rd 2023 Grand Opening

On May 5th, community partners, frequent shoppers, and local residents joined the BDC in celebrating the official Grand Re-Opening of the Berwyn Shops. With the ribbon cut, the 2023 season successfully launched with 12 NEW small businesses, offering everything from hand-poured candles and curated apparel to gorgeous accessories and baked goods.

Now in its second year, the Berwyn Shops continues to grow in recognition as a community event space, unique destination, and vibrant mini shopping center. In fact, this homegrown project has already hosted 5 events, 4 artists, and 4 musicians. The vendors have also been spotlighted across several media platforms, including ABC7 Chicago, WGN, Univision, and Daytime Chicago!

The 12 mini storefronts will remain open until the end of December. We hope that you continue to support the Shops and look forward to upcoming events and collaborations!

2022 Berwyn Shops Alumni Alerts

Although the new season of the Berwyn Shops is in full swing, we want to continue to celebrate the successes of our incredible 2022 graduates. Since graduating from the incubator program in early 2023, our alumni have opened storefronts, secured collaborations, and entered product competitions.

We hope that you continue to follow the previous vendors and anticipate even more highlights, grand openings, and special announcements from our 2022 cohort!

SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING REPORT

E-BLAST MARKETING RESULTS

The BDC’s email campaigns are split up into 4 major categories, Economic Development, Chamber, Why Berwyn, and The Berwyn Shops. By curating specific audiences we are able to make sure that the correct information is being delivered to correct people. Along with designing specific emails for defined audiences the emails are designed to improve engagement with our social media, website, and in person communication.

SOCIAL MEDIA RESULTS

SOCIAL MEDIA RESULTS

SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS: