Two tired storefronts on Washington Street in downtown Oswego are about to get new life, after village trustees signed off on roughly $63,000 in matching grants to help their owner cover the cost of exterior repairs. The money is headed to DTG Investments, which owns the buildings at 8 W. Washington St. and 12 W. Washington St. and plans to lease out the renovated spaces to new commercial tenants once the work wraps up.
The Oswego Village Board unanimously approved the exact award amounts at its September 11 meeting: $32,831 for 8 W. Washington St. and $30,327 for 12 W. Washington St., according to Shaw Local. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, DTG Investments purchased the 8 W. Washington St. property last November and requested a $32,800 grant to help cover the renovation. Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty told the board that grant funding was requested to help offset high construction and labor costs in the current market, per the Tribune's reporting.
A Two-Year Vacancy Gets a Facelift
The 1,000-square-foot building at 8 W. Washington St. sat empty for two years after Jack's Roofing moved out in 2024, following a string of earlier tenants that included a thrift shop, a home improvement company, an insurance agent's office and a fitness studio, per the Tribune. Total exterior improvements at the property are expected to exceed $67,000, and the scope includes replacement doors and windows, plus a driveway portion valued at $12,000, the same Shaw Local report notes.
DTG Investments owner Greg Dady said the internal infrastructure of both buildings is sound, which is why the grant money is going almost entirely toward exterior work meant to restore storefront appeal. The plan for 8 W. Washington St. calls for new exterior windows, doors, siding, gutters, soffits and downspouts, along with a freshly paved parking area, according to the Tribune's account of the project.
Next Door, a Long-Empty Commercial Unit Gets Attention
Just next door, the 2,000-square-foot mixed-use building at 12 W. Washington St. has an occupied second-floor residential unit sitting above a main-floor commercial space that has stood vacant for years. The report notes the storefront had seen only sporadic leasing in recent years, with past tenants including a candy store and a crystal reader.
Renovation costs there total $60,655, breaking down to $53,137 for new siding, soffits, gutters and downspouts, plus $7,518 to build an expanded entrance deck, the same Shaw Local report indicates. The village's $30,327 award will help cover that work as DTG Investments tries to finally reactivate the ground-floor unit for a new tenant.
A Trustee Asks About Repeat Grant Recipients
Not every question at the meeting was about paint and gutters. Trustee Karen Novy asked whether Oswego's economic development program limits how many awards a single recipient can collect in a given year, and Leighty confirmed that DTG Investments had also received program funds the previous year, according to the Tribune. The program does not restrict recipients based on the number of awards they've received, the outlet reports, and trustees ultimately approved both grants unanimously.
The awards come from Oswego's Economic Incentive Award program, which makes up to $40,000 annually available for eligible projects in the downtown Tax Increment Financing district, according to the Village of Oswego; awards are based on individual projects, the Tribune reported. The village created that 70-acre TIF district in September 2016 to support redevelopment and public improvements.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Downtown Subsidies
The Washington Street awards fit a pattern the village has repeated throughout 2026. In July, Oswego approved a $40,000 incentive award and a $125,000 revolving loan for Wholey Granoly to restore the former Dairy Barn site. Village President Ryan Kauffman has defended the grants as key to strengthening the downtown core.
Public money has flowed into the corridor beyond storefront grants, too. Oswego's $3.1 million South Harrison Street rebuild is within the downtown TIF district but is being paid for through the village's capital improvement fund. In April, trustees authorized a $2.1 million purchase of the former Traughber Junior High site at Route 71 and Washington Street to make way for a 161-unit development called Traughber Estates. The Washington Street storefronts now getting facelifts are another part of downtown Oswego's ongoing makeover.
The demographic backdrop helps explain the village's appetite for these deals. U.S. Census Bureau estimates cited by the village put Oswego's population at 37,074 in 2023 with a median household income of $120,000. With that kind of spending power nearby, filling two long-vacant Washington Street storefronts is shaping up to be one more piece of downtown Oswego's ongoing makeover.
