Autre Monde

French for “another world,” Autre Monde, a new pan-Mediterranean restaurant in the Roosevelt Road corridor, opened this summer to rave reviews. The bistro features a “green” focus and specializes in dishes utilizing ingredients grown on Midwestern farms or in the greenhouse on the premises. Autre Monde also offers seasonal cocktails, a well-edited list of 30 artisanal wines and craft brews. The restaurant received TIF assistance and a commercial loan through the BDC.

Paisan’s Pizzeria

Another great restaurant joined other dining and entertainment operators along Berwyn’s historic U.S. Route 66, Ogden Avenue this past summer. Paisan’s Pizzeria, with locations in Brookfield and Cicero, redeveloped a former warehouse into their headquarters. Paisan’s ownership moved its Cicero operations to the larger location in Berwyn, which features an attractive dining area, a consolidated delivery call center, banquet rooms, main kitchen, and manufacturing/storage area for Paisan’s products. The City Council approved a redevelopment agreement with the restaurant’s ownership to allow Paisan’s to open the new facility.

Culver’s

Roosevelt Road’s renaissance continues with the City Council’s approval of a redevelopment agreement to bring Culver’s to Berwyn. Famous for ButterBurgers and their frozen custard of the day, the Wisconsin-based, privately-owned restaurant chain approved franchisee Guy Hollis’ plans to expand into Berwyn. Culver’s joins other Roosevelt Road stalwarts like Buona Beef, Wishbone, Fitzgerald’s Nightclub, and Turano Bakery, strengthening the corridor’s identity as a dining and entertainment destination. The Berwyn location is one of the newest additions to Culver’s 400 stores nationally, and is the closest to downtown Chicago.

Berwyn Gateway Plaza

One of the last major projects of the Cermak TIF District is the redevelopment of several commercial parcels on the north side of Cermak Road, across the street from Cermak Plaza. The City is working with Berwyn Gateway Partners to bring additional retailers and restaurants to the Harlem/Cermak intersection. To date, Buffalo Wild Wings, Verizon Wireless, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and the Vitamin Shoppe have signed leases for the new development. Occupancy for Phase I of the redevelopment project should be complete in the first quarter of 2012.

Meijer

Meijer, one of the country’s largest grocery chains, is in the midst of constructing a new location in Berwyn, at Cermak Plaza, at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Cermak Road. The new store, totaling over 90,000 square feet in size, is one of Meijer’s new urban infill sites in the Chicago market.  The Berwyn location will feature full grocery and general merchandise components as well as a pharmacy. The store is slated to open in the third quarter of 2012.

Depot District Transit-Oriented Development Plan

The BDC is currently working to secure funding from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the West Suburban Mass Transit District to implement streetscape, lighting, landscaping and other components identified in the plan. The BDC also wants to add additional amenities for Pace and Metra commuters in the Depot District, such as new bus shelters.

Parking Facility Retail Leasing

The City's new parking facility in the Depot District includes 15,000 square feet of commercial space on the facility's ground floor. The BDC is hard at work to attract tenants, targeting restaurants and retailers to compliment the base of merchants and dining attractions already thriving in the Depot District. If interested in opening a business, please give us a call.

Roosevelt Road Streetscape

The next step in the revitalization of Roosevelt Road is the implementation of streetscape, landscaping, lighting and other elements that were included in the planning for the corridor by the communities of Berwyn, Cicero and Oak Park. The BDC is partnering with the two other communities to substantially complete the project by the end of 2011 with a small amount of remaining work to be finalized in spring 2012. Construction updates and more can be found at www.rooseveltroad.com.

"Superblock" Development

Berwyn residents have long awaited the redevelopment of the Superblock site at the southwestern corner of Oak Park Avenue and Cermak Road. The BDC is actively working with development teams for the approximately one-acre site. The plans consist of a new structure housing commercial space and attracting a new business for the former bank building.

Cermak Road Streetscape

As the Cermak TIF District draws to an end, the BDC is putting the finishing touches on the corridor, working to install the final streetscape elements, infrastructure and landscaping so that businesses along Cermak Road can continue to prosper.

Abrams Funeral Home

This project is true adaptive reuse – a former funeral home is being redeveloped into a mixed-use multi-story site. Located on Windsor Avenue in the Depot District, the two-story development features first floor commercial space perfect for boutiques or other merchants and second floor space that can be used for apartments or professional offices. The site is also within walking distance of the Berwyn and Harlem Metra stations. Use of TIF funds has enabled the redevelopment team to rehab the structure to meet City building code while providing quality commercial space in the Depot area.

Berwyn Kia

Ogden Avenue merchants welcomed the first new car dealership to open on the street in decades when Berwyn Kia began operations in spring 2011. Al Meyer, owner of Willowbrook Ford/Kia, saw that the near western suburban market had great potential for new car sales, and, with assistance from the BDC, decided to open in a former Dodge dealership site. The dealership is yet another chapter in the Ogden corridor’s history as an successful automotive business-oriented corridor.

Capri

An old favorite comes back to Berwyn with the return of Capri, an Italian restaurant. Having over the former Wishbone space next to Fitzgerald’s Nightclub on Roosevelt Road, Capri will offer a full sit-down lunch and dinner menu and limited carry-out items. The restaurant started in Berwyn, moved to Downers Grove, and opened another location in Burr Ridge. The restaurant partnership received TIF assistance for interior build-out, and the BDC worked with both the landlord and tenant to complete the transaction. The restaurant is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2011.