ReNew DeKalb gearing up for next steps

At Re:New DeKalb’s annual meeting held at Eduardo’s on November 7 the 2012-2013 officers for the Board of Directors was elected. Frank Roberts was retained as President; Mike Mooney and Denise Weinmann are co-Vice Presidents; Robert Higgerson is Treasurer and John Rey is Secretary. The meeting was open to the public. The admission price of $20 included a tasty variety of appetizers.

View east along Locust Street towards the intersection of 1st Street.

Directors are Lisa Angel, Rosa Balli, Mark Biernacki, Dr. James Briscoe, Alice Freier, John Launer, Bill Nicklas and Chuck Shepard. Matt Duffy of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce is an ex-officio (non-voting) member of the board.

Notable guests at the annual meeting included aldermen Tom Teresinski (2nd ward), Kristen Lash (3rd) and Ron Naylor (5th). State Representative Bob Pritchard and economic development experts Paul Borek and Roger Hopkins were also in attendance. Total attendance was (estimated) 43 people.

The keynote speakers for the annual meeting were Dave Schreiber and Ryan Garcia with SAA Design Group, Inc., founded in Madison, Wisconsin. SAA is a civil engineering, urban planning and landscape architecture firm. They have worked with 74 downtowns in the upper Midwest and have worked with Mark Biernacki before. The firm was selected from a field of such consultants but according to Biernacki no contract has been approved by the city council. He expects the city council to consider SAA’s contract towards the end of November.

SAA was impressed with the work and the investment the City of DeKalb has made into its downtown district. They’re proposing a revamping of the revitalization plans to reflect current trends and projections. Ideas discussed included a downtown summit to get stakeholders’ input and a ‘Power of 10’ best practices approach to identifying, developing and promoting the core attractions in the district.

Re:New DeKalb is a private, non-profit organization formed in partnership with the City of DeKalb for planning and implementing public improvements in the old central business district in the city. The organization receives $45,000 in funding from the City of DeKalb. About that amount is matched through contributions from local businesses and organizations including The National Bank and Trust Company, Castle Bank, Kishwaukee Health System, Midwest Orthopaedic Institute, Waste Management of Illinois, American Midwest Bank, Rosita’s and Eduardo’s restaurants, Brown Law Group, Sports of All Sorts, Wright’s Jewelry, Ducky’s Formal Wear, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, DeKalb Confectionary, DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation, DeKalb County Building and Development Association, Egyptian Theatre, The Lincoln Inn, Moxies, O’Leary’s Restaurant, Out on a Whim, Blue Moon Balloon Company, Paperback Grotto and Reyna’s Peluqueris.

The organization formed during the late Frank Van Buer’s tenure as mayor in an effort to refocus downtown DeKalb as the central gathering place for the community thereby spurring private investment into the old central business district. The strategy unveiled in a master plan was to invest in public infrastructure as incentive for private investment. The primary funding mechanism for the redevelopment project was and remains TIF. The Central TIF District was expanded to the Kishwaukee River and extended for another 12 years. General obligation debt bonds were issued to pay for $12 million in downtown renovations.

At the time of Re:New DeKalb’s formation the local economy was firing on all cylinders in large part due to the residential construction boom created by low interest rates and low credit standards for mortgages. With new rooftops appearing rapidly and projections of major residential developments in the pipeline there was a market reaction in the retail and logistics construction sector to meet demand. An ambitious plan was proposed to replace aged-to-the-point-of-deteriorating underground infrastructure in the center of downtown and renovate the physical appearance of the impacted area in a manner attractive to private investors.

ShoDeen Development secured land south of Lincoln Hwy, east of Walgreen’s towards the river. The original plan envisioned a square anchored by the National Bank and Trust Company that would include first floor retailers with a high end retirement community. But those plans have not moved forward albeit a scaled down from high end retirement condos to student rental apartments was briefly discussed and quickly dismissed.

The National Bank and Trust Company has made a significant investment in new construction in the downtown district and Castle Bank has made major improvements to its bank facilities on the north side of Lincoln Hwy., across from the new NB&T branch.

Because of savings from the downtown revitalization realized with the help of Re:New DeKalb TIF surplus funds were transferred to the Egyptian Theatre for needed improvements, new seating and air conditioning.

During questions and answers, Bill Nicklas, NIU VP of Sustainability (among other titles), commented that he hoped the new plans called for some sort of action on the north side of Lincoln Hwy west of First Street.

Whether and how much economic realities alter downtown revitalization plans remains to be seen. The city’s EAV dropped by 8% last year.