We were lucky to catch up with April Burgett recently and have shared our conversation below.
April, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
In early 2018, I read an article in my local newspaper that described a new endeavor that the City of Havana, Illinois, my hometown, was embarking on, which was the revitalization and redevelopment of our historic downtown. We have seen a steady decline in the condition of buildings and in small businesses in our downtown business district since the early 1980’s when manufacturing jobs left and factories closed. Our downtown had a high vacancy rate and most buildings were blighted with much deferred maintenance. When I read the article, it lit a spark in me! I have a love for old buildings and our historic downtown is filled with rich history, beautiful architecture and buildings, and red brick streets. I immediately knew that we had everything we needed to become a booming tourist destination. Our downtown is directly connected to the Illinois River and Main Street flows directly into the Riverfront Park. I could immediately envision a bustling downtown filled with quaint shops, art and culture, music and great restaurants, filled with happy visitors enjoying what we have created.
At that point, I asked the newspaper editor more about the project, and how I could become involved. I went to a community coffee in March of 2018, and it changed my life forever! I learned that the City of Havana had hired a consulting firm to assist with the downtown redevelopment and they had created a generous grant program to encourage reinvestment of private dollars paired with grant incentives. I dove in headfirst and began learning as much as possible, and working with the consultants and our mayor and city leadership. I talked to small business owners, I encouraged new businesses to come to Havana, I created a website to advertise our beautiful town and attract visitors, I built websites and managed social media campaigns for small businesses, and helped in any way I could with the efforts.
This led to my husband, David, and I purchasing a large two story historic bank building in March of 2019, which we restored into commercial space on the ground level and two boutique style, upscale short term stay lofts in the upper story. We completed the full restoration of the upper story and opened for lodging in July of 2020! Not an ideal time in the world for travel, but it was a great first year for us! I also joined the Havana Chamber of Commerce Board in 2019 and in January 2020 took over as President. Much like our downtown, our Chamber has revamped and improved and is now functioning at an amazing level to promote our small business community and work in tandem with our city government.
In addition to my role as a Superhost and Chamber President, I found true joy in the restoration of historic buildings and I act as general contractor on all our projects. In February of 2020, we purchased another dilapidated building on Main Street, which the city had recently voted to demolish. It was the most blighted building in the downtown and to me, cute as a button and totally worth saving, even though the roof had caved into the building and the floor had caved into the basement. We began work on that building in September of 2020 and it was complete and ready for occupancy in late April 2021. We leased the building as a photo studio for a local photographer, and it is beautiful! In September of 2022, we purchased our third building downtown on Plum Street and began demo efforts in December, quickly filling two large dumpsters. We plan to work on the upper story first throughout 2023 and then move to the downstairs for a full restoration of it as well!
In addition to the multiple hats I juggle related to downtown revitalization, I have a full time career as a Business Manager for the University of Illinois at a biological research facility, the Illinois River Biological Station in Havana, Illinois.
April, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I get great joy out of hosting visitors to Havana Illinois in my boutique style, upscale lodging, the Historic Havana Lofts. I have a vast knowledge of the outdoor recreation opportunities because of my work at the U of I and my involvement with the Emiquon Partnership, and enjoy sharing info and history about our quaint town and our amazing small businesses. I truly love hosting and the restoration of buildings, and creating innovative uses for beautiful historic structures! I am most proud of being a great mother and wife, I have two amazing daughters and I strive to set a great example for them that you can do anything you want! Work hard, dig in, and keep forging ahead – there will be trials and setbacks but you must keep moving forward! My husband and I have been married for nearly 26 years, and he is my best friend and business partner, I could not pursue my passions without his partnership and support. Beyond that, I am most proud of spreading good energy, providing creative solutions and helping in every aspect of the restoration and revitalization of my hometown, including business, buildings, branding and partnerships!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The blighted building that we purchased at 309 West Main was a big challenge, and we encountered some surprises during the demo and the initial rebuild that were major setbacks, which is not uncommon when diving into historic building restorations. Once the roof was completely removed and open to the sky and every piece of the floor was gone, we were staring at an open pit and then we discovered the front facade wall was built on rotted floor joists and we were going to lose about three quarters of the facade, it was a surprise! Soon after, it was discovered that the back brick wall would need extensive tuck pointing to be restored properly. At that point, we realized we had basically bought an address, since not much was left of the building but two shared side brick walls with our neighboring businesses. It was a lot to absorb, but we forged ahead, had the back wall tuck pointed, I redesigned the facade and our amazing carpenter, Rusty Rogers built it, and he put in new floor joists and a floor, we had a new roof put on and we were again off to the races!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One of the biggest life lessons that I think back on and re-tell myself often, is a time that I faced an opportunity that came my way, but I was fearful that if I took the chance and the opportunity, the result would be bad. I feared the risks associated with taking the chance and seizing the opportunity. While in the process of making the decision, I read an article that said, almost every decision that we make as human beings in our life is motivated by fear….motivated by fear! I set my mind at that very second that I would no longer allow fear to dictate the decisions I made in my life. You can always change your course later, and maybe not every decision will be a good one, and you may not get the results you wanted, but if you never take the change, or seize the opportunity, you never know what the result could have been. That was nearly 20 years ago, and I took the job that I was lamenting over, and I still have that job at U of I and I love it! I have faced many decisions that way! I would say I don’t go forward with reckless abandon, but I err more on the side of taking calculated risks for the sake of big gains! I get amazing joy out of taking chances and just doing awesome, big things!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.historichavanalofts.com
- Instagram: aprilbee3
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historichavanaillinois
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-burgett-5852591a0/
- Other: www.historichavanaillinois.com www.aprilburgett.com https://www.facebook.com/historichavanalofts/
Image Credits
Playtime Photography and Elizabeth Albers Photography