The Village of Antioch views Economic Development is being a critical component of creating a vibrant and resilient community. Based on this fact, a comprehensive policy has been established starting with the recent adoption of the Antioch Economic Development Plan and the creation of the Antioch Economic Development Task Force. All economic development efforts start with the existing demographics and psychographics of a community (i.e. population, median household incomes, educational level, etc) along with the existing economic and market trends. Understanding your market and demographic profile is the critical first step in creating an intelligent economic development plan. Having the right demographic/psychographic profile along with having the right contacts for the retailers creates the foundation for having a successful economic development strategy.
Commercial users look at the following factors when determining whether to open a store in a certain community:
- Size of trade area
- Demographics and psychographic tapestry of market area
- Location of nearest stores
- Traffic counts
- Population trends (is the community a growth market?)
Antioch’s trade area is approximately 100,000 people, which includes parts of Wisconsin and areas to the south and west. The trade area includes approximately 39,000 households and incorporates a median household income of $93,000.00. In addition, the Antioch trade area still includes vacant land and is a growing area compared to more mature areas to the south.
The Village Staff as part of the Economic Development Plan has identified several key economic development anchors that we are focused on with respect to attracting new businesses to the community. These anchors include the following:
- The Route 173 corridor will continue to serve as the premier commercial corridor in the area. Staff has identified several new commercial nodes along Route 173 that potentially could attract new retail development to the community.
- The Antioch Business Park will continue to attract new light industrial users to this state of the art business park. Currently, there is a 500,000 light industrial building along with another approved 514,000 square foot building. This business park is approved for 2,000,000 square feet. Additionally, the Village continues to work on the redevelopment of the Anita Business Park.
- Downtown Antioch with its historical character and home to a number of important civic institutions will continue to provide numerous opportunities to attract unique small businesses including restaurants and niche retail. As envisioned by the Economic Development Plan, Staff continues to work on a long term revitalization plan for the Downtown that reflects the current market trends. One of the major goals related to Economic Development for the Village is to attract new businesses to the Downtown that will attract visitors and increase foot traffic.
- Expansion of the number of existing Auto Dealerships continues to be another primary goal of the Village’s Economic Development Plan. The auto dealerships on Route 173 remain one of the Village’s most important generators of sales tax. Recently, the Village purchased property along Route 173 with the potential of attracting another dealership to the community, In addition, Kunes Ford is in the process of constructing a new dealership o their subject site.
An important part of the Village’s Economic Development Plan is to find the right partners to assist the Village in their Economic Development initiatives. Over the several years, Antioch has worked with some of the leading national economic development consultants to understand our market area and has recently hired a consultant to assist in retail outreach and another consultant to assist in drafting a Downtown Strategic Plan. Below is a summary of some of the active efforts that the Village has recently made through partnership with our consultants:
- The Village continues to work with Gruen & Gruen Associates, a nationally recognized economic development firm to follow-up on their extensive market analysis of Village’s trade area and to assist Staff in formulating Economic Development Incentive Agreements. The Gruen & Gruen Market Analysis provide an extensive breakdown on the existing market along with projections of future retail demand in the area.
- In lieu of retaining a full-time Economic Development coordinator, the Village retained the professional services of Retail Strategies, a nationally recognized retail recruitment firm to take the lead in reaching out to national retailers and determining their interest in Antioch. Retail Strategies has over 4,000 national retailer contacts and has created a close relationship with national retailer brokers throughout the nation. Staff is currently working with Retail Strategies on identifying which retailers match the Antioch market and we continue to reach out to these retailers as new projects get entitled. Click here to view the report from Retail Strategies.
- The Village has been working with the Downtown businesses over the past year in creating a Main Street community. As part of these efforts, the Village recently retained the services of Business Districts, Inc a leading Downtown Economic Development firm in coming up with a Strategic Plan for the Downtown. This new Strategic Plan will identify the steps that need to be taken to revitalize the Downtown. Specifically, specific recommendations on how to increase foot traffic and recruit new businesses to the Downtown have been identified as major goals of this new Strategic Plan.
Another component of the Village’s Economic Development efforts was the recent creation of the Antioch Economic Development Task Force. This new task force is made up of leading business and civic leaders in the community and their major role will be to provide the business community with a voice on new business development and retention of existing businesses. The Village believes that it is important that the business community have a voice in creating business friendly policies in the Village.
The Antioch Economic Development Task Force is made up of representation from the banking, finance, manufacturing, retail, restaurants, development, investment, auto dealerships, and civic bodies in the Village.
Economic Development Inquiry Contact
Michael S. Garrigan, Esq, AICP, CNU-A
Community Development Director
(847)395-1000 ext 1311
mgarrigan@antioch.il.gov
