Looking to open a spot in downtown Elgin? Free tour of commercial spaces on Saturday
People interested in opening a business or purchasing commercial space in downtown Elgin can check out the first "Downtown Elgin Open for Business" free tour Saturday featuring 13 buildings.
The self-guided open house, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., will feature a total of 22 spaces available for office, retail, restaurants, events and more.
The open house is organized by the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin, whose executive director Jennifer Fukala said the idea was to target entrepreneurs and commercial realtors. Those people, in turn, are likely to spread the word about what's available in Elgin to other people in the business, she said.
"We have other open house events," Fukala said, such as the "Ring Around Elgin" free tour of wedding and event spaces hosted by the Elgin Area Convention & Visitors Bureau this week, "but we looked at the benefit of having an open house event of this kind intended for this target audience."
Among the featured buildings are 8 and 10 S. State St., where renovations for office or retail space are taking place, and the restaurant space once used by the Gasthaus Zur Linde at 15 N. Grove Ave.
Saturday's event also will include a business resource fair at Elgin Artspace Lofts, 51 S. Spring St., where a variety of vendors - accountants, a bank, insurers and more - will have informational booths. Most of the vendors have done previous work with the association, Fukala said.
"For people who are working on their business plan and working to open a business, this can help accelerate the process and help them hone into their plan," she said.
Volunteers will serve as greeters and answer general questions and hand out downtown Elgin maps to participants.
Those who register online will get the map directly and will be eligible to win a $100 gift certificate.