Commission debates outreach, incentives and marketing to attract businesses to Villa Park

Commissioners used part of the meeting to review outreach and marketing strategies aimed at improving Villa Park’s appeal to prospective retailers and developers. One commissioner reported that in informal online queries Villa Park frequently ranked behind neighboring towns, prompting a pivot toward compiling incentive models and outreach tactics used by other municipalities.

A commissioner reported that promotional magnets containing non‑emergency contact information are ordered and will be distributed, and work continues on a new resident and business guide intended as a marketing and permitting‑information piece. “...what I’m looking at is someone who doesn’t know anything and is looking to try and figure out where they want to go,” the commissioner said, explaining why perception data matters for recruitment.

Commissioners proposed an outreach event for landlords and tenants to explain available village resources (permitting, code clarifications, TIF and façade incentives) and to solicit feedback about barriers to investment. The commission recommended creating a short checklist of perceived negatives to monitor progress over time and to build a boilerplate plan for a fall event that would include staff, trustees and partner organizations.

The discussion emphasized that changing external perception will be gradual: Mallon and commissioners said tangible project wins and consistent promotion are necessary to shift impressions over time. Commissioners directed staff and Mallon to prepare a short list of priority outreach items and an event plan to discuss at the next meeting.