Evanston’s Central Street, named one of America’s Great Streets by the American Planning Association, is a small thriving commercial area served by a busy Metra commuter rail station and located next to Northwestern University’s Ryan Field. The district is home to a wide variety of locally-owned, small businesses who have been volunteering for years to market the area and host events. But online competition, a nearby shopping mall, and several other proximate business districts meant that the businesses needed a way to step up their game and let people know what a treasure the area is.
Teska Associates, itself an Evanston-based small business located just a couple of miles away, was hired by the City of Evanston to assist the merchants with a feasibility study and lead a community engagement process. Through a year-long series of meetings, door-to-door outreach and hard work to get the right mix of revenue and services, the City of Evanston passed ordinances creating two Special Service Areas (SSAs – often called Business Improvement Districts in other states) that will serve the two business districts along Central Street. These locally controlled SSAs will hire their own staff and guide marketing, events and beautification improvements along Central Street for the next ten years.
Central Street Merchants