The Old Town Merchants and Residents Association serves as a Neighborhood Business Development Center and City of Chicago Small Business Center through the delegate agency program with the City of Chicago’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. Please read below about the services the OTMRA can provide your business.

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NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS (NBDC)

 

The NBDC Program program provides grants to Chicago-based chambers of commerce and business support organizations, to assist in the development of small businesses in Chicago, serve as liaison between local businesses and the City of Chicago, and provide neighborhood business development services. Learn more about the NBDC services the OTMRA provides here.

 

CITY OF CHICAGO SMALL BUSINESS CENTER (SBC)

 

The Small Business Center (SBC) is the business licensing division of the City of Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) and the City’s “ONE-STOP-SHOP” for business licensing, public way use permitting, and connecting entrepreneurs to business resources. Learn more about the SBC services the City of Chicago provides here.

 

As part of its work with Chicago’s BACP, the OTMRA also produces guides and market reports to attract businesses to the Old Town neighborhood. Click below for the OTMRA-produced Doing Business in Old Town Guide and quarterly market reports. 

 

The OTMRA also keeps a running list of available properties in the Old Town neighborhood. A map of those properties can be found here. 

Doing Business in Old Town Guide (2021)

 

In 2021, the OTMRA unveiled their first-ever Doing Business in Old Town Guide.

Learn more about the Old Town neighborhood and what makes the area unique. This guide highlights the different commercial corridors in the Old Town neighborhood and gives the reader a longer history of the neighborhood. 

 

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