Evanston city officials turned out today for a ribbon cutting at the expanded Heartwood Center and its new Skylight event space at 1818 Demptster St.
Heartwood owner Nancy Floy, center, with, from left, Elaine Kemna-Irish of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, Alderman Peter Braithwaite, Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, former state senator and Heartwood client Carol Ronen and Heartwood Business Manager Terri Clemens.
Evanston city officials turned out today for a ribbon cutting at the expanded Heartwood Center and its new Skylight event space at 1818 Demptster St.
The expansion of the holistic health center was financed in part by a $100,000 loan from the city’s West Evanston tax increment financing district.
The center’s owner, Nancy Floy, thanked all the participants in the project, from the bank that provided part of the financing to the contractor who provided the bamboo flooring.
The center moved to Dempster Street in 2010 from rented space in downtown Evanston. It initially rented part of the building the Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse, and faced a financial crisis when the warehouse moved to new quarters.
Floy decided to turn the unheated warehouse space into more office space for additional health practitioners and the meeting venue.
She enlisted neighborhood residents to help make her case for assistance to the city in the middle of last year.
The new meeting space in the old warehouse.
Why is the City spending money on this?
Let's see, our infrastructure is failing and our parks are not kept up, and we're spending money on holistic healing?
Well, at least the money is a loan.
I’m very thankful for the money spent!!
If it had not been for The Heartwood Center and Nancy Floy. I and many people might not be alive to continue supporting the community. Check this wonderful place and the incredible practioners. You will feel differently!
Investment in business district
Three points of clarification in response to the previous comment: 1. The Heartwood Center is an incubator of small women/ minority owned businesses (of which there are now nearly 80 such small independant practitioners in this Center) 2. The Loan given to the owner of Heartwood to expand this business was from Economic development funds -which are not funds earmarked for infrastructure or parks; 3. Economic development funds are finally and wisely being targeted at the Dodge-Dempster business area in which, five years ago, the Heartwood Center became a focal point of the revitaliiztion and redevelopment of this area and they became a key organizer of the new West Village Business Association which advocates for the area businesses from Dodge to Wesley and Dempster to Lee st and works with the city to bring needed attention and resources to this area of our city. On top of all of that the holistic health care businesses of Heartwood contribute in many ways to the improved health and well being of this entire community. .