‘This is what we need here’: Cluster of small shops proposed for Mundelein

Inspired by similar setups in other towns, a community group has proposed Mundelein create a walkable marketplace of small shops for clothiers, artists, bakers and other merchants.

“This is what we need here in Mundelein,” Edward Streb, a member of the village’s Economic Development Commission, told the village board Monday night.

Streb pitched the idea in a roughly 30-minute presentation that can be viewed online at mundelein.org.

The key to boosting Mundelein’s economic vitality isn’t attracting new retailers but helping existing ones grow, Streb argued. A community of what often are called “pop-up shops” can do that, he said.

Temporary, pop-up shops in vacant shopping mall spaces aren’t new — think of the “Spirit Halloween” stores that appear every fall in previously empty storefronts and then disappear again once the holiday is over.

What makes pop-up villages different is that they’re a collection of small cottages or sheds brought together specifically for this purpose.

They can be occupied by vendors selling jewelry, clothes, pastries and other products.

“These shops are essentially a combination of a micro shopping mall, a business incubator and a kind of visitor attraction,” Streb said.

Tenants often are people who have small, home-based businesses or who have dreamed of launching a business, Streb said. Some have an existing brick-and-mortar business elsewhere, “and they want to see if it’ll fly in the new neighborhood,” he said.

The shops could be open Fridays through Sundays between May and December, Streb said.

The village or a local group could own the cottages and lease them to interested retailers by the season at rates much lower than those for traditional storefronts, he said.

“(It’s) a reasonable entry point for people who are interested in starting a business and testing out a brick-and-mortar-type operation,” Streb said.

Vacant parcels on Park Street or Lake Street could be suitable for a pop-up marketplace, Streb said.

Next steps would include a more in-depth investigation by village staffers and consultants and fundraising, Streb said. Site selection, architectural designs and other work is needed.

Pop-up shopping venues operate seasonally in downtown Batavia and in McHenry. They’re planned for Warrenville and Huntley, too.

If Mundelein creates one, it could be the first in Lake County. Streb noted that Mundelein bills itself as a premier location for entrepreneurs.

“If we really believe in that, let’s get our act together,” he said. “Let’s start building these shops and put them on the map in Lake County.”

Following Streb’s presentation and a little discussion about funding and other aspects of the project, trustees informally agreed to direct village staffers to develop parameters for a group that would investigate creating a pop-up district.