Economy's Woes Not Slowing Development in Montgomery

Montgomery is a hotbed of development lately.

Coffman GMC is celebrating its recently expanded and remodeled dealership at 1149 W. Lake St., which enabled the company to have a new indoor showroom and service area. Next month, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held for the Merlin 200,000 mile shop at 1947 Route 30.

And the closed Boca Burrito building in downtown Montgomery has been purchased and will likely be home to a new Mexican restaurant. In the spring, Planet Fitness, the 21,650-square-foot fitness center at 1842 Douglas Road, became the first new business in the Settler's Landing shopping center in years.

“We’ve actually been pretty busy and I think it’s exciting that Montgomery is being proactive to bring businesses to the community,” said Charlene Coulombe-Fiore, executive director of the Montgomery Economic Development Corporation.

A groundbreaking ceremony for Merlin Muffler & Brake is set for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7.

Frank Coffman, secretary and treasurer at Coffman, is excited about the company’s future.

“We appreciated the time and effort that the staff and the elected officials at the village of Montgomery have taken to assist us with this renovation,” he said. “We are looking forward to continue growing our GMC customer base in Montgomery and the Fox Valley.”

Coffman plans to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for local dignitaries Nov. 8, with a public grand opening to be announced at a later date.

Coulombe-Fiore said development can be contingent on the economy.

“I’ve watched things go up and down. Montgomery’s economic development office has been working three times harder — we all have to because that’s just the way our business has been,” she said. “We have to work so much harder and smarter with a lot less. But it’s also more exciting now than it’s ever been because it’s so hard to capture the deals that maybe in the past we took for granted.”