BERWYN – Berwyn officials unanimously approved $100,000 in TIF assistance to bring a known name in the grocery business to the Depot District when the board met April 8.
Based on the recommendation of the Berwyn Development Corporation (BDC), officials approved the assistance to Familia Fresh Market, which plans to open at 3308 Oak Park Ave., across the street from MacNeal Hospital.
The 12,000-square-foot building, which once served as home to Berwyn Finer Foods, currently is being rehabilitated and remodeled to accommodate the Familia Fresh Market, which closed its doors in the Cermak Plaza in 2011 after the store’s lease was not renewed.
The $100,000 will be paid out in two installments of $50,000 over the next to years, said Assistant City Administrator Evan Summers.
That the vacant building soon would be a bustling business was good news for the community, he added.
“I’ve been here six years and I’ve never seen a business in that building,” he said. “We’re ecstatic. It’s also a good business here in Berwyn. We’ve worked really hard to find them a new space and we finally found one here.”
In a letter dated April 2 to Mayor Robert Lovero, BDC Executive Director Anthony Griffin said the new store will employ 10 full-time and 15 part-time employees.
A revenue forecast suggests the business would produce $631,162 in local tax revenue over the next five years, Griffin noted.