The chairman of Tinley Park’s finance and economic development committee says he “sees some spark of life in the economy” around the village.
Trustee Dave Seaman told an advisory group that developers are showing increasing interest in available properties. During last week’s Economic Commercial Commission meeting, he noted a company is looking at property on the east side for potential development into an extended-care facility.
“There are some pockets of opportunity we’re seeing,” he said.
Seaman said he was looking forward to a meeting with developers of a proposed five- to six-story, mixed-use building on the south side of South Street between 67th Avenue and 67th Court, across the street from the Oak Park Avenue Metra train station.
Seaman said he hoped “for some positive information because there has been precious little since the economy went down the toilet.” But keeping his message upbeat, he added, “I think we’re going to see some great things in the next two or three years.”
Economic Development Director Ivan Baker appeared to agree, saying, “There is a lot of activity that we’re monitoring. We actually have more property activity and businesses checking with us than before the recession.” But Baker acknowledged tight money continues to be an issue, estimating that half of the potential real estate deals were hamstrung by an inability to obtain financing.
Still, the number of people turning out for village business programs is another indicator of optimism, he said.
“We had more than 100 people coming to entrepreneur sessions,” he said, noting only a handful previously attended. Some are preparing to open new businesses.
“It may be a year before they have everything ready but at least they’re trying” to get everything in order, he said. “We don’t want them to open a business on their credit card.”
On a related note, Business Retention Subcommittee Chairman Chris Shoemaker said he’d like to find a way to reach out to established business operators who are having trouble.
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“By the time we find a business is struggling, it’s usually too late,” Shoemaker said.
Some of the activity involves long-empty facilities. Baker said some vacant buildings “that have been … ‘challenging’ over the years are very close to finalizing either their purchase or their lease.”
Seaman said the village strategy on unbuilt land includes “massing” small parcels into larger, more developable, single lots.
“It’s not going to be easy. Some of these are going to be infill projects,” he said, referring to some sites that are between buildings.
“It’s not going to be popular,” he continued, adding, “People get very protective but it doesn’t mean you make bad decisions for the community” in response.
Seaman, who joined the Village Board in 1984, said, “In a lot of cases, changes people were not happy about turned out to be good changes for the area.”