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Heun: Too many empty storefronts in Tri-Cities area

Give or take a few, the number hovers around 50.

That's the number of empty storefronts in the various retail strips throughout the Tri-Cities area. And that is not a complete sampling.

As promised last week, it's time to do a strip mall assessment of this region - mainly because the empty storefronts in them have slowly but surely become something of an urban blight. I wasn't able to take a look at every single one of them, but I saw enough to make me realize a few different factors are at work here. How we address those factors ultimately will determine what comes of these retail zones.

They stand as a reminder that even if the Great Recession was not as bad here as in other parts of the country, it took its toll.

Or, maybe even more importantly, they stand partially empty and in deteriorating states to cry out to us that this is a business concept whose time has passed and we have to either modernize them, or develop entirely new ideas for the land on which they sit.

Another key factor is ownership. Some have active owners, seeking to update and improve. Others appear to be holding out for a miracle buyer, or some other divine intervention. The bankrolls at play here are anyone's guess.

Checking the sites

Some retail strip sites appear vibrant enough to continue to draw new merchants and shoppers. Others, it's not even close.

We'll start with Batavia this week, and take a closer look at Geneva and St. Charles next week.

The strip at the corner of Fabyan Parkway and Randall Road has only one major site vacant, the former Circuit City location. With a Trader Joe's, Walgreens and the popular Lumes restaurant, this site in Batavia looks pretty healthy.

The strip alongside Target on Randall Road also is full, and the nearby strip with the Aldi grocery store also has only one opening, between Office Max and Boombah.

The Jewel store anchors Batavia's Windmill Place, which has four small retail openings and an outlot restaurant site that has been empty for some time.

Aliano's takes up a nice chunk of the Island Square retail strip in downtown Batavia with its restaurant site and Aliano's Express storefront for pizza pickup and catering services. Otherwise, the strip has a couple of other stores and two storefront openings.

The strip at Prairie and Wilson streets looks to have about three empty storefronts, while the one at Wilson Street and Raddant Road has Chicago Pizza and Batavia Pantry, but six empty storefronts around them. That's a location in need of some work, or a vastly improved economy.

Open that garage

Unless the weather causes its typical winter havoc, Geneva is hoping to see work on the third tier of the commuter-parking garage on Third Street completed in the next month or so.

Ideally, commuters are hoping to have the parking garage back as part of their daily routine.

The past several months haven't been a particularly fun time for commuters who use the Geneva station. Many have used the shuttle buses from other lots to get to the train station, while some who have parked near the station have been victims of a crime spree in which crooks steal catalytic converters from cars.

I am so glad my bosses have allowed me to work from home these days. My two-plus years of taking the train every day into a Chicago office were "interesting" but something I can surely do without.

Destined for music

Even though I have spent a lot more time documenting the achievements of high school athletes than those of high school musicians during my career, apparently I am not bad at spotting a musician who is destined for bigger things.

Such is the case with Brian Baxter, whom I watched perform in various programs and performances for Geneva High School when he was a student there some 14 years ago. He just had "music" written all over him.

Baxter, now an accomplished composer and drummer, will perform with his wife, harpist Emily Wren Baxter, at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Huntley Meeting Room at the St. Charles Public Library.

Besides earning various music degrees and awards while in college, Baxter has accomplished quite a bit since those days as a Geneva Viking. He co-founded the Chicago Composers Orchestra, and is director of operations with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra.

A foundation fundraiser

The St. Charles Public Library will also be the venue for a fundraiser for the library's foundation, featuring actors from the Vero Voce Theatre. Those actors will perform short stories written by the St. Charles Writers Group at 7:30 p.m. next Friday and Saturday.

Tickets are $10, with half the proceeds going to the library foundation. They are available by calling the theater at (630) 584-0139 or visiting its website at verovoce.com.

CASA a winner

OK, we're guilty as charged. I was stuffing the ballot box with $1 votes for the Tri-Cities Exchange Club's Christmas tree in the Giving Tree contest at the Geneva History Center, while my wife was doing the same for the TriCity Family Services tree.

CASA Kane County's excellent tree won the contest with $423 worth of votes.

More importantly, more than 2,000 people visited this seventh annual display at the history center during the holidays, which means people enjoy supporting their nonprofit community organizations - and looking at creative Christmas trees.

dheun@sbcglobal.net

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