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| Business
Districts, Inc. has been involved in numerous projects. The information
below summarizes our experience in a few of these communities. |
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| South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association |
| Since 2000, BDI has been advising the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA) as it undertakes economic development initiatives designed to improve the quality of life in Chicago’s south suburbs. This effort takes a regional approach as it organizes a “Corridors of Tomorrow” program to capitalize on the opportunities inherent in the strong transportation corridors traversing the south suburbs. BDI’s assignments have included the Calumet Corridor, the Lincoln Highway Corridor, the Metra Electric Corridor, the I-80 Corridor, and the Harlem Avenue Corridor. Numerous implementation initiatives have followed these studies ranging from industrial parks in Sauk Village to office centers in Park Forest. The main focus of current programming is developing the Calumet River system as a regional asset hosting manufacturing, residential, commercial, and recreational uses. Learn
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| South
Bend, Indiana |
| BDI has been advising South Bend’s Development staff since 1996. There have been six commercial corridor plans in a sequential program to revitalize South Bend’s aging retail districts and an Economic Development Action Plan for the Revitalization of Downtown South Bend. The major Downtown South Bend emphasis was the integration of more than 20 previous studies into a comprehensive physical and economic development vision that capitalized on the existing market and important physical assets, like the St. Joseph River with its kayak run. BDI was instrumental in the creation of a public-private partnership organization that has organized a strong downtown management program. Learn
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Mountain Brook, Alabama |
| One of most affluent cities in the United States is Mountain Brook, Alabama; a community planned by Olmstead’s landscape firm in the 1920’s and located just outside of Birmingham. In 2005, BDI was retained to complete an Economic Development Plan for the City of Mountain Brook that capitalized on it existing commercial Villages and Office Park. That project involved analyzing existing conditions and creating a “road map” to a future where these community assets both increased their contribution to city revenue and provided superior service to residents. This project was completed in January 2007. It has lead to community consensus on the desirability of varying uses and an understanding of how historic preservation fits into the fabric of a community. Learn
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| Itasca, Illinois |
| Although Itasca’s Downtown currently is modest, the community has great potential in the redevelopment of nearby aging industrial and commercial properties. In 2004, BDI created a Downtown Development Strategy that included a detailed action plan for realizing the community’s vision. BDI has supported implementation of that plan by advising the newly created Downtown Itasca Advisory Committee. Since that plan was adopted, BDI has guided that committee as it took the community’s vision for a riverfront restaurant in the former Village Hall from idea to negotiated developer agreement and completed a historic preservation program for the best of Itasca’s vintage properties. BDI continues to advise Village staff as they aggressively implement additional aspects of the Downtown Development Strategy.
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