Main Street Day 2005 Report

Elgin was well represented by Joe and Armida Dominguez along with RuthAnne Hall and Steve Munson (taking picture). Our booth attracted a lot of attention thanks to the generous donations of pastries from Pastigel Bakery and award winning salsa from Akina’s Thai Restaurant, it also made for a good lunch as there wasn’t any time to eat with the busy schedule.

Mike Jackson, from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (not the other Mike Jackson), stopped by for conversation and eats.

Lt. Governor Pat Quinn sampled the salsa and visited. He commented on the great Main Street State Conference held in Elgin in 2003 and had time for a photo op.


The man in the hat next to the Lt. Gov is Max, the new symbol of Illinois Main Street. You’ll be seeing him in promotions, a new web site and maybe visiting a town near you. Six legislators from across the state joined the press conference in the rotunda. That is up from last year.
More photos and stories later, I have to go for now.

Learn How Dinosaurs Can Help Your Business

Date: Monday, May 2nd
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location:
Gail Borden Public Library
270 N. Grove Ave
Elgin, IL 60120

Come learn how the Dinosaur Exhibit coming in Fall 2005 can impact your business. RSVP to Denise Raleigh at draleigh@nsls.info or (847) 429-5981.

The exhibit is Project Exploration’s GIANTS: African Dinosaurs. When parts of this exhibit were at Navy Pier in 2000, it experienced 600,000 visitors during a normally slow time from January to March, with 60% of visitors citing the exhibit for their reason for attending. The Sue dinosaur exhibit that just closed at Aurora's Sci-Tech Museum almost doubled their normal attendance. The Gail Borden Library has approximately 2,000 visitors per day when there isn’t a special exhibit.

The Grand Victoria Foundation provided a substantial gift to make this happen. Let’s take advantage of this unique opportunity to show visitors to Elgin that It’s Happening Here!

Spring Into Health

April 4 - May 13, 2005

The YWCA in conjunction with Simple Balance Holistic Center has created the YWCA Health Challenge. This program offers you the the opportunity to experience a variety of health and fitness classes. For a $5 fee you receive a fitness evalution, health information packet, 6 weeks of daily exercise and health related activities and personal support.
For more information call Mary Rees Freeman at YWCA Elgin 847.742.7930 or Simple Balance Holistic Center at 847.468.6012
Link to a Calendar of the activities during the month of April and May.

Main Street Day in Springfield

April 14th is Main Street Day in Springfield

The Downtown Neighborhood Association will represent Elgin at the second annual Main Street Day in Springfield. It is a great opportunity to share the fact that It’s Happening Here with the rest of the state. We will have a display in the capitol along with the other Illinois Main Street communities. The event takes place on April 14th in the state capitol. Pass the word to your friends and colleagues to stop by the booth if they’re downstate on the 14th.

Elgin Main Street Event – Downtown Development

Elgin Main Street Event – Downtown Development
Date: Tuesday, April 19th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location:
Fountain Square on the River Sales Center
51 S. Grove (J.C. Penney Building)
Elgin, IL 60120

Come learn about the revitalization of Elgin's Downtown Neighborhood and the plans to accommodate the change. City staff will be on hand to discuss the current and future development projects and their impact on the neighborhood. For more information please contact the Downtown Neighborhood Association at 847-488-1456.

UPDATE: Story in Daily Herald.

Bookstore Coffee Shop Coming Downtown

Rachel’s Books & Café is relocating to the former EFS bank site at Spring and Chicago streets. They will be moving from their Schaumburg location to Elgin in July. Read more about the shop in the Daily Herald article. Last year's downtown survey rated a bookstore high on the retail wish list.

Retail Center at Kimball and Dundee Begins Construction

The long discussed retail center at Kimball and Dundee has begun to take shape.

First Crane of the Season Spotted

It was a nice day for a walk so I took some photos as I ran my errands.

This will beome a familiar site for several years as the construction cranes dot the downtown Elgin skyline. The first one is at the site of the Fulton Street parking deck. Next up is the Fountain Square development on the NBD site and The River Park Place condo on the Crocker site.

A view from the bend in Riverside Drive towards the River Park Place townhomes. The Phase I Festival Park improvements are shown in the foreground.

I ran into David Vargas at the Rancho Vargas sidewalk sale. We discussed the new developments along South Grove. The staff at Al’s Café was out getting some air and enjoying the sunshine before the lunch crowd came in.

A stop at Simple yeilded an impluse buy and friendly conversation.

I ended the journey at the Centre to take in the Home Expo. Octavio at the DNA info booth.

Two Additions to Illinois Main Street

Main Street Momence and the Downtown Bloomington Association were officially designated as Illinois Main Street Communities. We welcome you to the family. The March edition of the "The Word on the Street" has all the details.

City of Elgin, 2004 Year in Review

The city has published the 2004 Year in Review report. Check out the River as a Resource and Alive Downtown sections.

Cloning extended to cities

The next step in cloning has taken place. Researchers have taken Elgin, Illinois and cloned it in Texas. This link proves it.

Spring Street Closed

Yesterday a garbage truck knocked down a utility pole behind the police station knocking out power in the surrounding area.

Entryway Meeting

Thirty some residents of Elgin, consultants and city staff gathered on Tuesday, March 29th to discuss options for improving our entryways. After intros we viewed videos of the drive from I90 down routes 25 and 31 to Chicago Street. The presenters pointed out areas where improvements could be made. A survey followed with our input on some 25 photos of streetscapes, buildings and medians. We wrapped up by sharing our views in four small groups. The Downtown Neighborhood Association was well represented by Eric Pepa, David Segel, Tom Armstrong, Victor Gonzales, Norma Miess and Steve Munson. The next meeting will present designs based on our input.

Last Chance for Upstairs Downtown Workshop in Rock Island

Just a reminder that the deadline for registering for the UPSTAIRS DOWNTOWN workshop is approaching fast! That's right March 30th is the deadline, less than one week away!! You can print registrations from the link below, they need to be mailed with payment to Renaissance Rock Island.

Remember Rock Island knows how to have a good time! Join us on April 7 and 8 in Rock Island for a 2-day workshop on the adaptive reuse of upper floors in downtown commercial buildings. For more information on UPSTAIRS DOWNTOWN, visit www.Illinois-History.gov.

March Out to Lunch at Akina's

Please join us at our March Out to Lunch as we celebrate Akina’s Thai Restaurant's second anniversary on Monday, March 28th at 12 noon. Akina’s is located at 23 S. Grove Avenue, Downtown Elgin. Enjoy their special lunch buffet for $7.50 (soft drink included). This special will be available until Friday, April 1st.

Denise, We'll Miss You

Denise Momodu has decided to explore new horizons and left her position as DNA’s Coordinator of Operations on March 25th. She will be pursuing a Masters degree at the University of Illinois.

Norma Miess, Executive Director has referred to Denise as her “Right Hand” for all her dedication and loyalty to DNA since she came aboard in the summer of 2002. Her sincere caring and valuable support has also earned the appreciation of many volunteers and businesses throughout Downtown.

We hope we can continue to see her enthusiasm and support as she is offering to volunteer for DNA’s Carnivals and other events. But she will definitely be missed as a part of the DNA staff. We thank Denise for her hard work and wish her all the best the future has to offer!

Please read the excellent article written by Lenore T. Adkins and published in the Daily Herald on Sunday.

Downtown Elgin Scores Big in the Local Press

Downtown was featured in several articles in both local newspapers this weekend.

Here are the box scores.
A triple for Akina's, Simple and Fountain Square on the River with three mentions.
A double for River Park Place with two mentions.
Singles for Al’s Cafe & Creamery, the Rowhomes on Kimball, Ace Hardware, Prairie Rock, Keeney's, The Martini Room, Simple Balance Holistic Center and That Suits You (also had an article last week).
I tried to keep my scorecard up to date but with so much action I may have missed a play.

The Courier News "Around Our Towns" Elgin section highlighted the new residential developments, River Park Place, the Rowhomes on Kimball and Fountain Square. The effect on downtown retail, including Ace Hardware, Akina's, Prairie Rock, Keeney's and The Martini Room was given it's share of column space. Jim and Cindy Bechtold, the owners of Simple, had an entire story about the store and their white postcards.

Mark Billings of the Daily Herald, had a story on the renovation at the old J.C. Penney building, 51 S. Grove. In April, it will become the sales and marketing center for the Fountain Square on the River residential development. Akina's was mentioned in the same article. Two stories on Simple by Lenore T. Adkins.

All this and the baseball season doesn't even start until next week.

Sign Forum Results

March 15th Sign Forum
Tom Armstrong and Sarosh Saher from the City of Elgin partnered with Paul Bednar, DNA Design Committee Co-Chair to present new sign options for downtown. 17 people listened to the ideas and then offered some of their own while enjoying the comforts of a Gail Borden Library meeting room. Our own Patricia Keeney, was interviewed by the Daily Herald.

Reference materials are listed below for those of you that missed the forum.
Update:
Presentation (Large file 16M)

Examples from other cities

Mesa, AZ
Sign Design Guidelines
Portable Sign Guidelines/Requirements
Comprehensive Sign Package Procedures
Outdoor Display Guidelines/Requirements

Davis, CA
Design Guidelines

Pasadena, CA
Sign Design Guidelines

Batavia to discuss facade programs

A Daily Herald article about Batavia's facade program references the success found in Elgin with a quote from Sarosh Saher.

No Green River in Elgin

West Dundee's plans to dye the Fox River green for the St. Patrick's Day Parade was shutdown by Elgin officals. The only green we need in the river is the money that flows out of the Grand Victoria and the environmental "green" to keep our source of drinking water clean.