The Now Arena in Hoffman Estates hadn’t yet opened as the Sears Centre when the village adopted its economic development strategic plan in 2005. Village officials have approved the first major revision to the plan in 17 years. (Daily Herald File Photo, 2021)
Hoffman Estates officials have approved the first major revision of the village’s economic development strategic plan in 17 years, setting ambitious goals while recognizing a different business landscape from that of 2005.
The strategic plan’s nine strategies include attraction and recruitment; business retention and expansion; foreign direct investment and targeted industry clusters; housing; marketing and communications; quality of life; small business development; tourism; and workforce development.
Economic Development Director Kevin Kramer said the strategies define how the village should focus its limited time and resources in areas of economic development.
The plan also identifies how the village might attract people back to work in their offices, as well as how to make it an attractive place to live for remote workers — such as emphasizing the convenient presence of coworking space like that at Bell Works Chicagoland, Kramer said.
While achieving all the plan’s goals in the next five years is unlikely, Kramer said reaching 90% would be a big win for the village.
“I want to dream big,” he added. “Even if they don’t all come true, maybe some of them can.”
Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said what especially impresses him about the plan is that it’s based on a full SWOT — Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats — analysis of the village.
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