St. Charles creating grant program to lure business downtown

With multiple large and small retail spaces sitting vacant downtown, St. Charles officials will offer a new grant program designed to help would-be business owners defray the costs of setting up shop.

“This is about attracting new business and getting them into the downtown and improving the viability of downtown by filling existing vacant spaces,” said Matthew O'Rourke, the city's economic development division manager, Monday night. “What we're looking at is the core of downtown, where retail focus would be.”

In recent years, O'Rourke said, potential business owners occasionally mention the cost of updating old plumbing, electrical work and fire alarm systems as a cost-prohibitive barrier to getting started. The grant program would address that by having the city pay up to half the cost.

Office-type businesses would be eligible for up to a $10,000 match. Retail businesses, which return sales taxes to the city, would be eligible for up to $25,000.

The city is particularly interested in filling large retail spaces that have been vacant six months or longer. But the initial pitch didn't envision helping funeral homes, tanning salons, laundries or new taverns opening. All those businesses were on an exclusionary list proposed by the city staff.

Alderman Ron Silkaitis said that didn't seem fair.

The city has had a tenuous relationship with downtown taverns for several years as a fair amount of police activity in the downtown stems from patrons of the taverns.

But the taverns are also a major supplier of sales and alcohol taxes to the city.

“They are viable businesses in St. Charles,” Silkaitis said. “I don't know why we'd want to treat them differently than any other business in St. Charles. If we're out to make a building safe and look good, I don't know why we're making any properties ineligible. I don't believe that makes a level playing field.”

The majority of aldermen agreed. There will be no exclusionary list of businesses eligible for the new grant.

Aldermen must take one final vote before the program is created. The city staff will budget for up to $100,000 of grants in the 2015-16 budget year, which begins this spring for St. Charles.

The money will come from the general coffers of the city.