Mundelein gives grant to local landlord
Mundelein officials have found their first recipient for a newly expanded grant program that aims to help local entrepreneurs improve commercial properties.
The owners of the building that houses Best Car Care II, 131 E. Maple Ave., will receive $500 in village funds to assist with planned landscaping improvements.
Mundelein-area residents Glenn and Gloria Garamoni own the site. They've proposed planting bushes and shrubs outside the building to improve its appearance.
The $500 grant will cover half the project's estimated cost. According to the grant rules, the money will be delivered after the work is completed.
The board approved the grant without opposition after a brief discussion.
Afterward, Gloria Garamoni said she thinks people will appreciate the building will look nicer after the landscaping is complete.
"I'm glad we can do it and I'm glad that they're helping us," she said.
The grant program launched last year and initially focused on the village's downtown area - a wedge-shaped district that's mostly south and east of routes 45 and 176.
But officials awarded only one grant that first year, to a fast-food restaurant called Luke's of Mundelein.
Because of the low interest, officials agreed in May to expand the program, allowing applications from any business in the village. They also included $100,000 in the village budget for grants, double the sum set aside last year.
"We hope that it improves the (town's) image and attracts businesses," Village Administrator John Lobaito told the Daily Herald.
The grant cap is $25,000. For more about the program, call the community development department at (847) 949-3282.