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NILES — A popular Niles business will be able to complete its move to downtown with support from the City of Niles.

The Niles City Council voted 5-1 Monday to approve Dylan Roberts’ $30,000 Revolving Loan Fund request to assist with relocating his ReddHill RadioShack business to its new location at 105 E. Main St.

Roberts recently purchased the RadioShack store which was formerly located in the shopping plaza located at 720 S. 11th Street. The business has since relocated  to the downtown which Roberts feels is a better setting for the business and requested a $30,000 loan from the City’s Revolving Loan Fund to assist with renovation of the downtown space for retail, signage, and establishing a maker space. 

The Maker Space will offer workshops, classes, and open lab time for DIY electronics projects, 3D Printing and Prototyping, robotics and coding, arts and crafts, STEM education for kids and adults and more. 

“I feel RadioShack has always been a downtown type of brand,” Roberts said. “People need stuff and if you want help, we’re here. We help people find the things they need to get back up and running.”

According to the city website, Niles administers a revolving loan fund program that is available for loan and grant projects considered eligible by the state of Michigan. The RLF is an economic development tool that is based on partnerships between private businesses and the city that works by providing loans to businesses that cannot locate or expand in Niles with traditional financing sources alone.

The aim of the RLF is to generate economic activity that will lead to the creation of jobs for low-and moderate-income individuals. Loans may be used for land and building acquisition, construction, machinery and equipment acquisition, or for working capital. Businesses that benefit from the program are required to create one job for every $15,000 that is borrowed.

A majority of the jobs that are created must be provided to low- and moderate-income individuals. The loan request does not impact the City’s General Fund. The Revolving Loan Fund currently has $277,000 available for loans.

Fourth ward councilmember Michael Thompson cast the lone dissenting vote and called the city’s RLF program “shadow banking.”

“Shadow banking is something that government should not be doing in the first place regardless of whether it is federal, state or local governments giving the loan… What this program does is tip the scales of success, not just in favor of those who are granted the funds, but also against those local people who compete for their survival. By giving these funds, we are also helping to crush the dreams of other local businesses proportional to the help that we are giving RadioShack. 

“It was brought to my attention that a good portion of RadioShack’s business deals with selling a prepaid cell service. There are many other small businesses in this area that do the same thing and by voting for this, we are now making it harder for those local businesses to survive in an already competitive market. To put this vote into a real world perspective, you are not only going to give RadioShack $30,000 in assistance but you’re also voting to give thirty thousand dollars of hindrance to everyone else.”

 

According to Roberts, the community’s response to the move has been mostly positive. He is looking forward to contributing to downtown Niles’ positive momentum.

“I think it’s very important and awesome that they’re able to do something like that because it breathes life into local small businesses that need to expand,” Roberts said. “I think it’s really helpful to some of us that are trying to make that happen. There are a lot of local businesses that are working on getting downtown back to the good ‘ole days. It gives us the ability to offer classes and courses for the local community and teach people new skills. I think education In technology is lacking in the area and I think this will be a good boost.”

For more information on Reddhill Radioshack products, visit Reddhill.com.