Board offers financial assistance to village business

After 60 years in business, Harleys: The Store for Men will be relocating - with assistance from the village.

Owners Tim and Janet Ryan told the Shorewood Village Board on April 6 about their plans to downsize the 16,500-square-foot store at 4009 N. Oakland Ave.

The board voted to give the Ryans $183,300 to relocate to a new, 5,333-square-foot space within the Lakewood Building, 3575 N. Oakland Ave.

The funds will come from the village's Community Development Authority budget. Annually, CDA allocates funds for such efforts as façade improvements and, in the case of the Harleys' relocation, incentives to help businesses and developers.

Tim said increased rental costs and the need for less space as the retail environment has changed in the last six decades are some of the reasons for the move.

The village's contribution will go toward actual construction costs, not other efforts associated with the move, including purchasing new fixtures and marketing.

With village approval, Tim said he Janet plan to sign a letter of intent with owners of the Lakewood Building that will be good for at least five years.

A tentative time line calls for interior construction of the new space to begin May 31, with a physical move to the new facility planned for mid- to late-August.