Bartlett Offers Grant Program to Increase Building Safety and Help Local Businesses Thrive

In an effort to attract new businesses, help existing businesses expand, and provide safer buildings, the village of Bartlett offers grants through its Bartlett Economic Development Assistance (BEDA) Program

Developed in 2018 through video gaming revenues, BEDA provides matching grants up to $50,000 to both new and existing sales tax-producing businesses within commercially zoned areas of Bartlett that meet specific criteria. Among other interior and exterior building improvements, eligible projects include code compliance-related items such as fire sprinklers and fire suppression systems. Applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and, if approved, the incentive amount is determined based on the project’s scope. The BEDA grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis until allocated funds are depleted or the program ends.

Village Economic Development Coordinator Tony Fradin says the grant program was developed to address aging buildings in Bartlett, and to reduce the business owners’ costs of bringing them up to code. “The village created it to have an incentive program where we could both compete with other communities’ efforts to attract business, and also assist some of our smaller mom-and-pop, homegrown businesses here in Bartlett with paying for the improvements of these buildings,” he states.

“Right now, the largest project we have going with this grant program is a restaurateur who is converting a 140-year-old barn into a restaurant,” Fradin notes. “Not only do they need to upgrade and put in the fire suppression and sprinklers, but this building also didn’t have water and sewers. So with a big project like that, we know it isn’t likely to move forward without this BEDA grant. It’s easy to get people to inquire about the grant, but it’s harder to implement it.”

Erik Hoffer, executive director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, commends the village of Bartlett for offering the grant program and recognizing the vital role building safety plays in economic development. “The grants will help business owners make the right decision in putting safety first, allowing the community to become more fire-safe one project at a time.”