On Friday, Dec. 2, Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld and Economic Development Director Angela Mesaros had a long day.
It started with the groundbreaking in the morning for Homewood Brewing Company and ended in the evening with the annual Holiday Lights festival, one of the village’s biggest events.
Sandwiched between in the afternoon was a trip to an Illinois Restaurant Association meeting to promote the village. Hofeld and Mesaros regularly attend IRA meetings to make connections with restauranteurs in an effort to entice them to consider locating in Homewood.
A look at the rear of the building at 2066 Ridge Road on Nov. 5. The property was purchased earlier this year by the village. Two developers have expressed interest in the site for a possible transit-oriented project. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
Holiday Lights and other village festivals also play into economic development efforts. The village always invites prospective developers to visit during village events. Representatives of two companies attended Holiday Lights, Mesaros said.
“It shows them the pulse of the community,” she said. “They were very impressed with the crowd and the demographics.”
Hofeld said those visits are always followed up with phone calls to continue developing a relationship that might lead to a new business in town.
Mesaros said bringing potential developers to town is key to countering a lingering stigma some attach to the South Suburbs.
“We do that just so that people get a feel for the community,” she said. “That’s always the first thing they say is, ‘Wow, this is a great community.'”
As 2022 comes to a close, those efforts have contributed to a number of projects in various stages of progress that will change the local business world in the coming year.
Of the big developments, the most visible and furthest along is the Hartford Building downtown. The four-story building will include three floors of apartments and a restaurant, Stoney Point Grill, on the first floor.
The Hartford is the biggest project in years to help fulfill the village’s transit-oriented development strategy, which seeks to capitalize on the proximity of commuter and long-distance rail to add population density downtown. More people living downtown is expected to bolster the health of downtown businesses.
The new building’s exterior walls and roof were completed this fall. Work on the brick skin has begun. Work on the interior is expected to continue through the winter.
Stoney Point Grill owner James Burke recently told the village board that he expects to open the restaurant in late spring or summer. Burke and the developer, HCF Homewood, have been approved for $850,000 in transit oriented development (TOD) district funds over five years.
The downtown area has several other projects in various stages of completion.
Another potential TOD project is the redevelopment of the village-owned building at the northeast corner of Harwood and Ridge Road.
The building has a place in Homewood history as the site of the Mueller tavern, once a prominent downtown structure with a turret. In the 1960s, it was significantly remodeled into the modern-looking white structure of today.
As of mid-November, two developers had expressed interest in the property, according to Mesaros. One firm’s preliminary plans call for demolishing the building to make way for a new TOD-oriented development. The other developer is exploring the possibility of remodeling and possibly expanding the current building.
A third TOD project that is still in preliminary stages is the redevelopment of the former Savoia T’Go restaurant property on the southwest corner of Dixie Highway and Hickory Road.
Mesaros said the developer has submitted a plan but is making revisions.
A project that is close to opening is the Homewood Veterinary Clinic on the northeast corner of 183rd Street and Dixie Highway. The building originally was home to Family Video and most recently was home to a fitness business.
The clinic’s ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Dec. 17.
The new Shell gas station on the northeast corner of 183rd Street and Harwood Avenue is getting closer to opening, too. The pumps were installed last week.
After the gas station is up and running, the owners are expected to develop a small food business in the former Citgo convenience store building next door to the east, according to village officials.
Work is continuing on the Hibbing Building at 18121-18123 Harwood Ave.
Upstairs apartments are being remodeled first. The owner is hoping to find two food businesses to lease spaces on the first floor, Mesaros said.
The owner plans to preserve the old building’s facade, which has an historic look.
The biggest project outside the downtown area is the Wind Creek Casino near the junction of Interestate 80/294 and Halsted Street. The casino campus will straddle the boundary of Homewood and East Hazel Crest.
Site preparation work began in October and is still under way.