Local business owner redefining Carpentersville's Old Town

Buildings along Carpentersville's Main Street on the banks of the Fox River that were once dilapidated structures in desperate need of repair, fresh paint and landscaping, are getting a new lease on life.

In the past few decades, Tom Roeser, president of Otto Engineering, has bought more than a dozen buildings in the village's Old Town section to improve the aesthetic of an area that once served as an industrial hub.

Roeser's resurrection of the area, which started when Otto Engineering moved into a Carpentersville storefront in 1968, has transformed about 20 neighborhood eyesores into affordable residential units, updated retail spaces, or pristine open areas.

"The downtown area is the first look that most people see when they enter Carpentersville," Roeser said. "Twenty-thousand cars go across the Main Street Bridge daily. Improving this area removes a stigma of Carpentersville as a tired, industrial village.

"The first impression that many will have after the entire area is renovated is that this is a cute, historic town that is close to transportation and recreation and a nice place to live and invest."

For his part, Roeser and Otto Engineering have invested more than $20 million to improve the area.

Roeser's latest project at 11 W. Main St., part of the former manufacturing center of Illinois Iron and Bolt, includes nine interconnected buildings with more than 100,000 square-feet of space, Roeser said. While the project is in the early stages, Roeser said he is working with Elgin-based architect Burnidge Castle on plans that could include an upscale deli, office buildings and other businesses.

"All of the Illinois Iron and Bolt buildings were industrial slums," said Roeser, who estimates spending upward of $5 million to complete the project. "The six-acre site will be restored and turned into a productive use."

Roeser's investment in Carpentersville is not limited to the Old Town section surrounding the company's historic downtown building. The village's largest employer has also bought and renovated several townhomes in the village's Morningside neighborhood.