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A Resolution Authorizing Amendments of the Village of Oak Park’s Renew the Avenue Commercial Interior Improvement (C-IIP) Grant Program and the Commercial Social Media Grant (C-SMG) Program Guidelines
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Introduction
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The recently approved Commercial Interior Improvement (C-IIP) grant program and the Commercial Social Media Grant (C-SMG) program are designed to assist businesses located within the Hemingway Business District in alleviating the potential impact of the Village’s planned Renew the Avenue streetscape project. Originally, the streetscape project was planned to occur in calendar year 2025 and both programs were planned to expire on December 31, 2025. The amendments to the formerly approved grant program’s guidelines are recommending extending these two programs so they are available to Hemingway District businesses in both calendar year 2025 and 2026.
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Recommended Action
Staff recommends approval of this Resolution. In addition, the Hemingway District OP Board recommends the adoption of this Resolution.
Prior Board Action
• February 4, 2025 - The Village Board approved Resolution 25-124, establishing these two new grant programs.
• December 3, 2024 - The financial support for these recommended programs was included in the approved FY25 budget that was adopted by the Board on December 3, 2024.
• October 29, 2024 - Previously, the plans for these business assistance programs for the Hemingway Business District were presented and discussed with the Village Board during the Board’s Finance Committee budget meeting on October 29, 2024.
Background
The Village Board most recently approved the creation of the Village of Oak Park’s Renew the Avenue Commercial Interior Improvement Program (C-IIP) and the Commercial Social Media Grant (C-SMG) Program guidelines on February 4, 2025, through Resolution 25-124. The grant programs are designed to assist businesses in the Hemingway Business District during the then planned-for 2025 Renew the Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project. Since the most recent approval of the grant program’s guidelines, the Village has moved the streetscape improvement program to the 2026 construction calendar. Therefore, new amendments to the guidelines are being proposed to extend the program's availability, as previously approved, during both calendar years 2025 and 2026. With the approval of these proposed amendments, the availability of the grant programs would now end on December 31, 2026, instead of ending on December 31, 2025, as was previously approved by the Board. The new amendment wording is bold, underlined, and shaded in yellow in Attachment 2, which includes the proposed guidelines.
In addition to the new proposed program guideline amendments summarized above, additional background on the history of the C-IIP and C-SMG programs, as were outlined for the Village Board when those programs were approved by the Board at their February 4, 2025 meeting, are summarized below.
In summary, the C-IIP grant will mirror the long-established Commercial Façade Improvement Program (C-FIP) except that it will only allow improvement work that will occur inside first-floor spaces in the Hemingway District. Similar to the C-FIP, C-IIP will be a 50/50 reimbursement program, with applicants eligible to receive up to $5,000.00 per licensed business. The minimum C-IIP improvement investment, by the property owner or commercial tenant, will be $1,000.00 (meaning $500.00 paid by the grant applicant and $500.00 paid by the Village). Examples of interior improvements that the grant program will assist in supporting include, but are not limited to, the following: Interior fixed lighting improvements, flooring/carpeting improvements, electrical improvements, plumbing improvements, painting, and H-VAC improvements. The attached guidelines provide a full list of qualified improvements. Additional requests for unique interior improvements will be reviewed and considered by Village staff.
In summary, the proposed C-SMG grant will be a program to support businesses' continued or new use of social media through the placement of advertisements and the boosting of social media posts to attract customers originally during the 2025 calendar year and now proposed 2025 and 2026 calendar years. This grant will also mirror the long-standing C-FIP program, except it will be available to every licensed business within the boundary of the Hemingway District, no matter what floor that business is located on. The grant will be a 50/50 reimbursement program, with applicants eligible to receive up to $1,000.00 per licensed business. The minimum licensed business owner reimbursement request will be $200.00. In other words, a business that invests $400.00 in social media ads or boosting social media posts in both 2025 and 2026, if this recommended amendment is approved, can qualify to be reimbursed up to $200. Further, a business that invests $2,000.00 in social media ads or on boosting social media posts in both 2025 and 2026, again, if this amendment is approved, can qualify to be reimbursed the maximum, up to $1,000.00.
Examples of social media expenses that the grant program will assist in supporting include the following: Placement of social media advertisements and boosting of social media posts. The minimum C-SMG Program reimbursement request to the Village shall be $200.00, meaning the total cost of services billed to the business was $400.00. As with previous business assistance grant programs, there will be an application made available to qualified businesses.
The boundaries of the Hemingway Business District have long been established. The district extends and is defined by Pleasant Street on the south, Euclid Avenue on the east, Ontario Street on the North, and North Kenilworth to the west.
A presentation to the Finance Committee of the Village Board occurred on October 29, 2024, for consideration of this item in relation to the FY 25 budget. The memo presented that night is included as an attachment.
Timing Considerations
The Village is beginning to market the C-IIP and C-SMG programs to the Hemingway business community and it is important that the program’s guidelines match the will of the Village Board, on paper, as quickly as possible so as not to create confusion. Applications for the program are being accepted now.
Budget Impact
The approval of the recommended C-IIP and C-SMG guideline amendments will be supported by the already budgeted funds in 2025 within the following account number: 1001.46262.101.585625. A total of $85,000.00 has been designated to support the C-IIP and $120,000.00 to support the C-SMG. Program monies will be recommended for fiscal year 2026 during the normal FY26 budget process.
Staffing Impact
The Development Services (DS) Department will continue to facilitate these business assistance grant programs as it has facilitated thirty-six (36) C-FIP grants and 346 COVID-19 business assistance grants over the past few years. DS staff is well versed in working with our Oak Park businesses and with business assistance grants. The DS Department also intends to utilize online grant software capabilities to minimize staffing impact as much as possible.
DEI Impact
To qualify to receive these Village grant program funds, a business must be licensed in the Village of Oak Park and be physically located in the Hemingway Business district. The Development Services Department staff would intend to administer these new business assistance grant programs as we have done with the C-FIP and the COVID-19 business assistance grants. The only difference here is that these grants will only be available in 2025 and there will be a limited geographical area in which businesses will be allowed to apply for this assistance. Still further, the C-IIP will only be available to first-floor Hemingway businesses while the C-SMG will be available to every licensed business, no matter what floor, in the Hemingway District. The long-established boundary of the Hemingway Business District can be found at the end of the “Background” section, outlined earlier in this report.
Community Input
Before both of the grant programs were approved by the Village Board in February 2025, the Hemingway District OP Board provided the attached letter, recommending approval. The Village’s Business Association Council (BAC) has also expressed support for the recommended programs to assist Hemingway District businesses.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of the C-IIP and C-SMG guideline amendments.
Advantages:
• These grant programs will provide additional assistance to Hemingway District businesses and property owners, many of which may experience a negative financial impact from the planned Renew the Avenue streetscape construction project. If the amendments are approved, that assistance will be provided in both 2025 and 2026. No business will be eligible for additional monies above what the guidelines allow. The proposed amendments allow the businesses additional time to maximize their use of the programs.
• The Hemingway District’s public spaces, following this project, will see significant improvement. These grant programs, especially the C-IIP, will assist business and property owners to ensure that the District’s interior spaces benefit from the improvement to mirror the renewal that will be occurring on the streetscape outside their businesses/properties.
Disadvantages:
• Businesses in other business districts that are not impacted by a streetscape project may inquire why the Village is not instituting these specific grant opportunities community-wide.
Alternatives
Alternative 1:
Do not approve the Resolution to amend the C-IIP and C-SMG programs.
Advantages:
• No additional work impact was created for Development Services staff in 2026, beyond the previously anticipated grant work in 2025.
• The Village could potentially save money as businesses only allowed to utilize grants in 2025 would not have the extra time in 2026 to maximize their utilization of the grant programs.
Disadvantages:
• Not approving the Resolution would potentially limit the utilization of two of the grant programs designed to assist the Hemingway District businesses and property owners during the Renew the Avenue streetscape construction project.
• After collaboration efforts with the Hemingway District OP business district leadership to develop the programs in question and obtaining their significant support, not approving the Resolution to amend these guidelines, allowing full 2025 and 2026 utilization, could appear counter-productive to supporting the Village’s youngest, one-year-old renewed business district organization.
Anticipated Future Actions
If approved, the amended C-IIP and C-SMG guidelines will be widely distributed to businesses within the boundaries of the Hemingway Business District. Development Services staff will work cooperatively with the Hemingway District OP Board to hold a public meeting or two at which all of the parameters of the programs will be discussed and questions answered. Additionally, work will be done to promote the new guidelines through the professional public relations staff hired to assist with the Renew the Avenue project in the Hemingway District.
Further, the Development Services staff will provide regular updates to the Board, as staff often do with current C-FIP projects and as was done when Covid-19 Business Assistance Grants were available in Oak Park.
Prepared By: Cameron Davis, Assistant Director, Development Services
Reviewed By: Craig Failor, Director, Development Services
Approved By: Kevin J. Jackson, Village Manager
Attachment(s):
1. Proposed Resolution
2. Proposed Program Guidelines Amendments - 3.18.25
3. Letter of Support From Hemingway District Board - February 2025
4. Memo from the October 29, 2024, Finance Committee of the Village Board when the C-IIP and C-SMG Programs were discussed.