This Monday, October 1st, MacSpecialist will feature Apple products and related wares when it opens the newest retail store in Oak Park. Located at 805 Lake Street, MacSpecialist will be open 9AM to 9PM Monday through Saturday and 10AM to 6PM on Sundays.

Through the Grand Opening Week activities, MacSpecialist will give away over $10,000 worth of prizes, including iPad, iPhone and Mac accessories and more. To enter the hourly drawings, simply fill out an entry form at the store (no purchase required.)

Situated near Oak Park Avenue, MacSpecialist will join the crush of
commercial activity in the Avenue Business District, near restaurants, cafes, clothing stores, the public library and the CTA Green Line. The store will fulfill a strong need for technology and electronics shops in the area. MacSpecialist features 2,000 square feet of Apple products, including iPads, Macs, and a large collection of third party accessories.

For further information, please contact Tim Robertson, COO of
MacSpecialist, at tim@macspecialist.com or at 269-986-5013.

MacSpecialist Storefront Opening Oct 1, 2012

Jim Solnes of Scoville Square and Mr. David King of David King and Associates are pleased to announce the execution of a long-term lease at 805 Lake Street.  The long-term lease is the largest lease in more than a decade in Oak Park.

MacSpecialist, the premier Apple Reseller in the Chicago metro area, will open the flag-ship store on October 1st.  The Oak Park store will feature Apple products, including iPads, Macs, and a large collection of third party accessories.

As an Apple Authorized Service Provider, MacSpecialist will feature one of the area’s largest independent Apple warranty repair facilities offering service for iPhones, iPads and Macs.  iPhone users will be supported with warranty exchange services.  Mac users can enjoy repair and upgrade options for warranty and out-of-warranty Apple Computers.

MacSpecialist is moving forward on the 6,045 square foot space formerly occupied by Baird & Warner Real Estate.  David King of David King & Associates represented MacSpecialist in the exhaustive search of Oak Park & surrounding suburbs and in the lease negotiations.  Jim Solnes represented the Scoville Square ownership.  The storefront will undergo significant renovations.  Demolition has already begun.

“I’m thrilled to represent MacSpecialist in my hometown of Oak Park” said David King.  According to Tim Robertson, Chief Operations Officer at MacSpecialist, the Village of Oak Park President David Pope was extremely “persuasive”.  “I could not be more excited for MacSpecialist to join the Scoville Square Family” said Scoville Square’s managing partner, Jim Solnes.

“At a time when many companies are scaling down, and the news is full of massive layoffs, MacSpecialist is looking to hire upwards of twenty employees in the Oak Park community.” said Tim Robertson, Chief Operations Officer at MacSpecialist. “We plan on bringing the full Apple retail experience to Oak Park with a fantastic location at 805 Lake St. We will have a huge service area that can do both warranty and non-warranty work, as well as a world-class training facility for professional level certification classes.”

During the Grand Opening week of October 1st-5th, MacSpecialist is planning on daily giveaways in celebration of the new store. Details of the Grand Opening are being kept secret until a few weeks before the store opens.

“Apple sells fantastic products, and we are very excited to be able to offer them in Oak Park. We are a locally owned company that has been in business since the mid-1980s, and are looking at Oak Park as our flagship and corporate headquarters for years to come” said Tim Robertson.

This morning, the wonderful “gals” at Garland Flowers at 137 South Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park were met by an unannounced street closure on Oak Park Avenue. The Village of Oak Park, the Township of Oak Park and the Seniors Center decided that this morning was the perfect day to partially close Oak Park Avenue to disconnect the old water and sewer service to the soon-to-be-opened Senior Center on the east side of Oak Park Avenue.

If a private real estate concern were to engage in trenching the street, there would have to be permits and notifications. There was not advance notice to either Garland Flowers – a wonderful flower shop, if you’re interested – or Maya Del Sol restaurant over at 144 S. Oak Park Avenue.

Does the fact that the owners of Maya Del Sol restaurant have been critical of the Village’s plan to tear up Oak Park Avenue have any bearing on the situation? What are the plans for Oak Park Avenue? The Village of Oak Park is acting like a three-year-old not making any noise. Parents recognize that when a kid is not making noise, he or she is making trouble. The sound of “crickets chirping” from the Village is troubling.

How much effort does it take to alert business owners that construction will take place? It seems as if our governmental entities – the Village and Township feel that they can be bad neighbors.

The closing of the Avenue Parking Garage, originally set for last Sunday has been rescheduled to next Sunday, February 19th.  The Avenue parking garage will be closed  from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. to all parking, bicycle and pedestrian customers, so that the new photovoltaic array may be lifted by a huge crane to the roof top.  The Village of Oak Park claims that this sun powered electrical generating device will create enough electricity to power the garage.  Seems to us as if the Village is wishing for a lit of sunny skies!  The direct cost to Oak Park Taxpayers is somewhere around $200,000.  Question: Will the project pay for itself before the garage falls apart?

Speaking of Sunny Skies, a new bicycle parking rack has made an appearance at the southwest corner of South Blvd and Oak Park Avenue.  We’re very fortunate that the snow over Friday was not the feared six or more inches originally forecast by the Weather Guys.  Even so, with any appreciable snowfall, how does the Village of Oak Park expect to clear the snow?  We think that there should be an over/under on when a motorist making the corner will just plow into the pylons and bicycles!

With this project and the Avenue Garage, it sure seems as if the new theme song for Oak Park might be “Blue Skies” (enjoy Willie Nelson’s 1978 version).

The Village of Oak Park is giving serious consideration to tearing-up Oak Park Avenue between Ontario and Pleasant to create a Streetscape similar to those of Marion Street.

An artist rendering of South Oak Park Avenue if streetscape improvements are approved by the village. (Graphic submitted by the Village of Oak Park)

Many Oak Park residents, retail merchants, restaurants and service business owners are not so sure that this is a good idea.  To keep up on the debate and to get more information about the proposed costs & benefits, visit www.opans.org.