Downtown not the only attraction in Libertyville, north-end businesses say

Businesses on the north end of Libertyville want to let it be known there is more than one commercial area in town worthy of attention.

Downtown gets the buzz but after being pummeled by an agonizingly long road construction project the past few years, merchants on north Milwaukee Avenue and Peterson Road are cooperating in an inaugural event they hope will spread the wealth.

Bill Kaiser, the entrepreneur behind the popular Dog Days of Summer event and owner behind the makeover of Lee Donuts into a family destination on Peterson Road, went door-to-door along the corridor for two weeks to gauge interest in a promotional event featuring area businesses.

"No one believed it," he said of an idea that has evolved into the Uptown Street Fest, set for May 15 to 17. "It's underappreciated, this whole area."

It also is far different from downtown, where shops abut each other along Milwaukee Avenue and visitors can stroll and stop to shop or eat at their leisure. Businesses along Peterson Road are more far flung, with many contained in a series unconnected neighborhood centers.

The Uptown area for this promotion runs along Milwaukee Avenue north from the Metra commuter rail tracks to Peterson Road and then west to Route 45 and includes 150 or more businesses. The Tranel Financial Group will pay for posters and other promotional materials, which made what may have been a hard sell a lot easier, Kaiser said.

"We made it pretty simple. No cost to any merchant in any way shape or form," he said. "The merchant will do whatever event they want." Kaiser plans a hula hoop contest with cash prizes, Tranel will have inflatables out front and Ace Hardware will be grilling, for example. Be it sales or other offerings, Kaiser is shooting for 100 participating businesses.

"There are a lot of great businesses out there that have been there a very long time," said Heather Rowe, the village's economic development coordinator.

Attempts to organize north-end businesses have been made before but didn't jell. However, owners and operators were united in misery as motorists avoided the Milwaukee Avenue/Peterson Road (Route 137) intersection, which was under construction for two years until being completed last summer.

"We were told by a number of businesses they were down 30, 40 or 50 percent during that time frame," Rowe said. "What we did see was that the landlords really worked with them (tenants) on rents. Many of them are recovering from that still."

Village officials also have invested about $75,000 in aesthetic corridor improvements over the years. But identifiers such as banners aren't feasible because there are too few light poles and a lack of public right of way, Rowe added.

"We're focusing on the landscaping. We're limited by the infrastructure," she said.