downtownelgin

Call to Artists!

Join Artspace Projects, Inc. at the Gail Borden Public Library on Wednesday, May 16 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for an informational meeting about the Artspace Lofts located in downtown Elgin.

A welcoming reception begins at 6:00 p.m. in Community Rooms A, B and C, followed by an informational meeting at 6:30 p.m. where the public can meet members of Artspace Projects, Inc. and Realty and Mortgage Co., the property managers for the project, learn how you can secure a unit and discover more about becoming a part of this creative community.

Elgin Artspace Lofts is one of the latest live/work space projects under development by Artspace Projects, Inc.  This project will feature 55 affordable residential units including parking. Residents of the artist lofts will enjoy common features such as an open interior gallery space for art exhibits, a community room, in-door bike storage, a “tot-lot” kids play area, a rooftop deck and additional individual studio work areas in the lower level.

Over 5,800 sq. ft. of street level commercial space for creative businesses and organizations that support the arts will also be available for lease.

Attendees are asked to RSVP at downtownelgin@gmail.com by Friday, May 11 or visit DowntownElgin.com to register online for the Elgin Artspace Lofts informational meeting.

For more information about Artspace Projects, Inc. visit ArtspaceElgin.org

Aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners are invited to attend the third in a series of workshops hosted by Team You – Elgin’s small business resource team – on Friday, May 4, 8 to 11AM at ECC’s University and Business Center.

The event is titled “Locally-Grown Success” and features speakers from three successful Elgin-based small businesses on the following topics:

• Greg Shannon & Lou Gramm, Elgin Public House Topic: Choosing the right marketing mix for your business

• Jaime Hjelm Bertoncini & Naomi Hjelm, A#1 Cab Dispatch Topic: Owning and operating a family business

• David Ziegler, Ziegler’s Ace Hardware Topic: Competing with big box retailers in today’s market

Elgin Mayor David Kaptain will kick off the workshop with remarks about how to do business with the city of Elgin, and staff members from the city’s purchasing department will be on hand to provide additional information and answer questions.

Members of Team You will also be on hand to provide information on the resources that each organization provides to local small businesses. Team You is comprised of the City of Elgin, Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin, ECC’s Small Business Development Center, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin Development Group and S.C.O.R.E.

Cost is $15 per person and pre-registration is required.

Register at www.elginchamber.com/teamyou or by calling the Elgin Chamber at (847) 741-5660.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin invites the public for a tour of the 2nd District Appellate Court building, 55 Symphony Way in downtown Elgin, on Monday, April 30 as part of its monthly Out to Lunch and Out to Dinner events.

One of the most distinctive buildings in the region, the Appellate Court building is severely modernist, but with a humanist touch. Built in 1966, its integrated courtyards, skylights that flood the interior with light, saturated colors, and luxurious materials and furnishings all combine to give this building a startling textural and visual richness. Most of the original modernist furniture and decorative surfaces survive in the building.

The tours will discuss not only how court proceedings occur in the building, but also its architecture and design intent. This is also a rare opportunity to see the original judges’ living quarters with their original designer furnishings.

Tours will be led by Anthony Rubano of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Robert Mangan, 2nd District Appellate Court Clerk.

Guests have their choice of the following activities:

• Afternoon Appellate Court Tour ONLY: 11:45AM to 12:30PM (No charge)

• Afternoon Appellate Court Tour followed by Out to Lunch: 11:45AM to 1:45PM
- Buffet lunch at La Quebrada, 50 N. Spring Street; $12 cash only (tax and tip included)

• Evening Appellate Court Tour ONLY: 6:00 to 6:45PM (No charge)

• Evening Appellate Court Tour followed by Out to Dinner: 6:00 to 8:00PM
- Dinner at Prairie Rock Grill, 127 S. Grove Avenue; $12 cash only (tax and tip included)

Space is limited. Guests can RSVP online at http://bit.ly/HTuW9x or call (847) 488-1456. RSVP deadline is Friday, April 27.

Downtown stakeholders and interested residents are invited to attend an update meeting regarding construction projects happening in and around downtown in 2012. The meeting will be held on April 10, 6:30 to 8:30PM at the Centre of Elgin, 100 Symphony Way in downtown Elgin.

Representatives from each project’s management team will be on hand to provide project overviews, including construction schedules, detour routes and other important information. The projects to be covered are:

• Riverside Drive Promenade – James McDonough, IHC Construction & Tim King, Hitchcock Design Group
• Downtown Streetscape Phase V – Brian Fairwood, TranSystems
• Kimball Street Bridge Resurfacing – Joe Evers, City of Elgin
• Elgin Artspace Lofts – John Shales, Shales McNutt Construction
• Other projects happening around the downtown – Joe Evers, City of Elgin

Please RSVP ONLINE to attend or call (847) 488-1456 or email downtownelgin@gmail.com.

It’s now or never time! The shot clock is winding down on the Opening Round of Downtown Madness 2012: Downtown vs. Crosstown. Does your team have one last good run in them to finish out strong?

Here are the Downtown Madness voting results thru Monday, March 12 at 10:30AM (actual voting totals will be released after Round 1 is completed on Monday, March 12 at 5PM):

DOWNTOWN:

• Elgin Public House Turkey Avocado BLT leads Toom Toom Thai Restaurant Nam Tok
• Buckinghams Steakhouse Grand Tomahawk leads Villa VeroneGamberi e Casspesante Scampi
• Ravenheart Coffee Macadamia Nut White Mocha leads Prairie Rock Bar and Grill Prairie Rock Cuban
• Prime Burgerhouse Drunken Bull Burger leads Al’s Cafe Roasted Salmon Mediterranean

As we speak, there are a couple of Opening Round match-ups that are extremely tight (separated by less than 30 votes each). Though unprecedented, in the event of a tie in any of the Round 1 match-ups, we will go to OVERTIME! If that should become necessary, we will make an announcement tonight at 5:30PM. We will then launch a new Round 1 OVERTIME Voting Form (for the tied competitors only) beginning tonight at 7PM and reopen the voting (meaning everyone who has voted previously can vote again). Round 1 OVERTIME voting would close Wednesday morning at 10AM. Stay tuned!

Time is also running out to take the Downtown Madness Pick ‘Em Challenge. Correctly predict the winners of ALL 15 Downtown Madness match-ups round-by-round for your shot at $100 in Downtown Elgin Gift Certificates. Download your Pick ‘Em Challenge brackets at www.DowntownElgin.com and submit your picks to DNA, 2 Douglas Avenue, Elgin, IL 60120 by Tuesday, March 13.

And don’t forget to pick up your Elgin “Eat 16″ punch card at any participating Downtown Madness venue. Visit all 16 and receive punches for trying each “signature dish” in the bracket. Collect all 16 punches to claim your Downtown Madness t-shirt and a chance to score even bigger prizes – including gift certificates to each participating establishment and other great prizes! To qualify, return your completed punch card ticket to DNA, 2 Douglas Avenue, Elgin, IL 60120 by April 4,

The Madness returns this March – only this time the “steaks” will be raised and the field will be even hungrier!

Downtown Madness, the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin’s award-winning restaurant and bar promotion tips off Wednesday, March 7. This epicurean and decidedly Elgin slant on the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament pits the signature dishes or drinks from 16 local establishments against one another in a month-long, social media driven, bracket tournament, where the voting public determines the winners of each match up, round-by-round until a champion is crowned on April 4.

This year’s encore edition will expand its scope to include all Elgin restaurants and bars – not just downtown Elgin ones – as we pit eight downtown eateries and pubs against eight of their crosstown rivals. We call this 2012 version of our “Big Dance”Downtown Madness: Downtown vs. Crosstown.

Bust the brackets by casting your votes and supporting your favorite teams…downtown OR crosstown!

Additionally, Downtown Madness participants can also punch their dance ticket and win big with our new complementary promotion: Elgin “Eat 16″.

Starting in March, guests can pick up their ”Eat 16″ punch card ticket at the DNA, 2 Douglas Avenue, or at any of the 16 participating establishments. Visit each venue during the length of the promotion and receive special punches for trying each signature dish/drink. Collect all 16 required punches to score a Downtown Madness t-shirt and take your shot at some great prizes!

With Downtown Madness you can eat, drink, play and win!

Interested Elgin restaurants or bars should contact Jason Pawlowski at 847-488-1456 or e-mail jpawlowski@elginil.org.Participation deadline is Friday, March 2.

1. Shopping local creates jobs. Shops in your town create local employment and self-employment. These people in turn spend in the local economy.
2. Local independent shops invest more in your communities. Local businesses are proportionally more generous in their support of local charities, schools, and community events. So supporting local shops means a financial contribution to your community.
3. Local shops sell great products at affordable prices. Some people get out of the habit of shopping locally and are then surprised by the range of products available.
4. Shopping locally saves you time and money. You travel less, saving on time and fuel.
5. Shopping locally retains your communities. People don’t like losing shops and services in small towns but don’t equate this with how they spend their money.
6. Shopping locally retains your distinctiveness. Independent shops create distinctive shopping experiences and stock different products. Local businesses respond more quickly to the needs of local customers, stocking products to meet changing population needs.
7. Shopping locally saves the environment. Local shops often stock a high percentage of locally sourced goods that do not require long-distance transportation, helping to reduce our global footprint.
8. Local shops are for everyone. Most people can get to their local shops easily. This is especially important for the elderly, young people and others who rely on public transportation.
9. Local shops value you more. Evidence from numerous surveys show people receive better customer care and service locally. These businesses survive by their reputation and repeat business, which means you get a higher standard of service.
10. Shopping local saves services. Private and public sector services cluster around shops. As shops disappear so do hairdressers, banks, restaurants and other businesses.

As construction continues on the Elgin ArtSpace Lofts in downtown Elgin, the district’s creative economy is gaining momentum heading into 2012.

Fat Cat Custom Guitars & Repair Shop and Fat Cat School of Music will move to downtown Elgin in January, 2012. Fat Cat Guitars has been in business since 2004 on Randall Road in Carpentersville. The move marks the close of the retail component of their business in order to focus on the custom guitar shop and music lessons that have become hallmarks of their business.

Owners Kate Darling-Bond and Scott Bond said they were attracted to downtown’s arts scene and its support for local, independent businesses.

“We are very pleased to be moving into a community much more befitting the nature of what we do than the strip mall sprawl we are leaving,” said Darling-Bond. “We feel that the custom shop and the music school will go a long way toward bringing additional traffic to downtown as well as continuing to define the area as a lively and appropriate home for unique and creative businesses.”

Fat Cat joins an eclectic, burgeoning mix of artistic retailers including Elgin Antiques & Uniques, Rediscover Records and Spacetaste Gallery that are complementing downtown’s long-standing retailers such as Artistic Framing, Elgin Books, Andersen’s Trophies, Shockey Jewelers and Carswell’s Flooring.

Bond currently has more than 60 of his custom-built guitars in the market. Separating the school from the custom build and repair shop will allow Bond to focus his attention on expanding the area of the business for which he is best known as an experienced guitar builder, designer, technician and musician.

As for the school, longtime Fat Cat instructor Tim Tournier has joined the Bonds to create a new venture focusing solely on music education. Music lesson slots will be available online in January in guitar, bass, voice, piano, banjo, and mandolin from beginner to advanced professional.

DNA executive director Tonya Hudson has been working with the Bonds for almost a year, assisting them with demographic information to help them transition their business model and with finding the right space in which to execute it.

“Kate and Scott are excellent examples of the type of retail-oriented business owners we are working to attract to downtown,” said Hudson. “They are experienced operators and marketers, they have a unique niche that complements the current business mix, their businesses don’t rely solely on foot traffic to survive and they bring an existing customer base.”

Arts-oriented business ventures such as this support Mayor David Kaptain’s proclamation that Elgin will be the center for the arts as well as for small businesses in the northwest suburbs.