Tri-City Teamworks off to a roaring start

When the Mercedes-Benz dealership moved out of the building at 220 N. Randall Road in St. Charles last March, the building's owners wanted to ensure it would stay a viable part of the marketplace along Randall Road.

As they actively searched for new tenants, they didn't find much of a market for new car dealers, like the Mercedes-Benz dealership that had rented there for five years. Prior to that, Hines Lumber occupied the building.

So the owners at Corcoran Commercial Real Estate decided to go in a completely different direction.

“We knew that action was needed,” President Ryan Corcoran said. “We didn't want the property to remain vacant for years as you see with other sites.

“We came up with a creative idea to organically put tenants into that building,” Corcoran continued. “We reviewed and studied the market and demand for what was needed in the area.”

And what they came up with was Tri-City Teamworks, an indoor sports complex.

In total, the building is 19,000 square feet.

The service area for Mercedes-Benz occupied about 15,000 square feet of the building.

Corcoran decided to clear that out, and cover the ground with sports turf and hang netting throughout to create individual sports playing and practice arenas.

The company turned the space into three separate sports areas that it rents out to local teams and sports organizations.

Now, nearly every weeknight, and all day on the weekends, you can find people playing lacrosse, soccer, baseball, softball and more inside of the building, Corcoran said.

“Once we made a decision to do it, it took two weeks to clear it out and put it in, and then just another two weeks to fill up the schedule,” said Corcoran, adding that the building started welcoming the teams in January.

“There is a very large demand in the area and we've put quite a few sports teams in there,” he said.

The remainder of the 19,000-square-foot building also is getting a new use.

The portion that used to be home to the Mercedes-Benz showroom soon will be occupied by Play It Again Sports.

Corcoran said the used sports equipment business is remodeling part of the showroom center, and should be open for business this spring.

He said it should be a perfect location for Play It Again Sports, with so many sports teams practicing next door, and with the visibility along Randall Road.

In less than a year's time, he said, they've found new uses for the building that will be a benefit to the area, and will ensure the building doesn't just sit vacant along Randall Road.

“We went from a 19,000-square-foot building that was totally vacant, to a 100 percent leased and occupied building,” Corcoran said.

For more on Tri-City Teamworks, call (630) 444-0944 or email tricityteamworks1@gmail.com.

Ladies Night Out: The Algonquin Commons shopping center has a Ladies Night event planned for Thursday.

You can stop by Guest Services starting at 5 p.m. to pick up a wristband. With that wristband, you'll get discounts and bonuses at various stores throughout the mall.

You also will get a chance to win at each Algonquin Commons store you visit.

The event runs until 8 p.m.

The outdoor shopping center is hosting two more Ladies Night events planned for April 19 and May 17.

Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from Algonquin to Batavia. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or at (847) 894-5036.