Howard Meyer is our Chamber of Commerce member. Howard gave us a presentation of the recent economic development in Skokie. The Skokie area was first settled in the 1880’s and incorporated in 1919 as Niles Center and reincorporated in 1948 as Skokie. There are 1800 businesses in Skokie and it was originally the largest industrial corridor in the North Shore.

 

By 2014, Skokie had 72,000 residents. The gross annual retail sales in Skokie ranked it as #1 in Illinois. 2014 was a record year for building permits issued by the Village. Leading the redevelopment is the corner of Touhy and McCormick with the Walmart, MBurger, Mariano’s, Longhorn, Starbucks.

 

New businesses to Skokie will be Chick Fil-A and Tilted Kilt. The Illinois Science and Technology has a nanotech focus and is the home to the NorthShore HealthSystem call center, Takeda and Astrellas,  Aw Yeah Games, Fogo Peri Peri, Delitimes, Skokie Mart, Tash Fitness. Westfield Old Orchard is 100% leased. New openings at OO include:  Blaze Pizza, Galt Toys, Z Gallery, Athletica, and Macy’s is being considered for reworking. Although the downtown Skokie TIF is expired, the Village is working on the Lincoln Avenue development along with StreetScapes. There is also redevelopment in the Dempster Street Swift corridor.

 

Remember Howard Meyer and the Skokie Chamber of Commerce and Industry when you hear your associates mention that they are looking for expand their business opportunities.