Argiris, Helmer talk business in Wheeling, Prospect Heights

The mayors of Prospect Heights and Wheeling are number guys.

Looking back on 2014, the two packed their respective state of the city and village addresses Wednesday with loads of figures - most in dollars and cents.

"I base our success on numbers," Wheeling Village President Dean Argiris told about 150 people at a lunch hosted by the Wheeling/Prospect Heights Chamber of Commerce.

So to capture what he called an improving business climate in town, Argiris crunched the numbers:

• In 2014, Wheeling issued 1,599 building permits representing $40.4 million worth of construction projects, an increase of more than $4 million from the last year.

• Vacancies in the village's 14 million square feet of industrial space stand at just under 6 percent.

• Retail sales totaled more than $558 million, up more than 12 percent from the prior year.

As for what's ahead, Argiris highlighted the opening of Northgate Crossings, a $50 million, 288-unit luxury apartment complex that broke ground in October. He also briefly touted the $100 million Town Center, a mix of restaurants, almost 300 luxury apartments and outdoor space east of the Metra station on Dundee Road near village hall.

Developers are hopeful they can start construction on the long-awaited project this summer.

"We're moving on the right track here," Argiris told the community and business leaders.

On the flooding front, both Argiris and Helmer noted completion of the $38 million project to renovate Heritage Park and add stormwater storage there. The funding came from county, state and federal sources.

"This facility will help eliminate much of our flooding, but it probably won't eliminate everything because our 100-year floods occur every two years," Helmer said. "So that's a problem, but it will be a great improvement over what we've had."

Helmer's notable numbers? The 22 new businesses and the 350 new jobs created in recent years.

He spent much of his time at the podium promoting work to beautify Prospect Heights. As part of a branding plan, the city will continue to add signage around the suburb of about 16,250. And in May, crews will begin adding landscaping, among other cosmetic improvements, along the Milwaukee Avenue tourism corridor, starting at River Road and ending at the newest hangar at Chicago Executive Airport.

"Most of all, we are developing a sense of pride in our city," Helmer said.