River Forest’s economic development commission may consider a recommendation on whether a TIF district should be created for Madison Street or North Avenue — or both.
After learning on June 16 that both areas qualify, commission members will get direction from the creator of the village’s 2010 corridors study on what kinds of projects may best spur economic development. That meeting with John Houseal has not yet been scheduled, Village Administrator Eric Palm said.
A second session with representatives from Kane, McKenna who examined whether the areas could become TIFs, will determine the potential financial impact of creating the areas, Palm said.
Both meetings would impact any recommendation that will go on to village trustees. Trustees will not make a final decision to create a TIF until the issue and its implications are shared and discussed with other units of government that would be affected by a TIF, said Palm, who was hesitant to put a date on when a decision would be made. Once that’s done, it could take months before any TIF could be established, Palm said. Putting one in place could easily be a “six-month process,” he said. “There is a lot of background work that has to be done.”
Designation could be critical as the village attempts to jump-start economic development and implements recommendations from the corridors study. Formation also would allow River Forest to address ongoing impediments to redevelopment as well as vacancies, beautification and functionality of both areas, the Kane-McKenna studies noted.
Both Madison and North qualify under the designation of “conservation areas.” To be eligible, both areas must meet two conditions:
1) 50 percent or more of the buildings in the area must be at least 35 years. Along Madison, extending from Lathrop Avenue west to the railroad right-of-way, 17 of the 22 structures met that threshold. On North, from Thatcher Avenue east to Harlem Avenue, 36 of the 47 structures meet the threshold.
2) 13 criteria must be present. Kane-McKenna found North and Madison had several of the factors present: lagging or declining EAV; obsolescence, which state law defines as “the condition or process of falling into disuse or structures that have become ill-suited for their original use;” deleterious layout, which focuses on incompatible land use; excessive coverage, defined as over-intensive use of the property and the crowding of buildings and deterioration.
At least one property in each of these areas may be key to spurring redevelopment. Vacant since 2009, the Hines Lumber property on Madison had been eyed as a site for a sports complex and housing, but both of those deals fell through. Another prospective housing project was proposed, but nothing has yet been brought forward to a village commission.
Aiding redevelopment there will be new lighting, pedestrian crosswalks and other amenities as part of a $1.833 million beautification project to be undertaken with Forest Park, which will be funded predominantly with a state grant.
On North, the former Dominick’s site is considered critical to the street’s and the village’s revitalization. The site has been vacant since December. No deal has been signed yet for the property although smaller regional grocery chains have expressed interest in assuming or buying out the rest of the lease.
A TIF is a special tool that a village or city can use to generate money for economic development in a specific geographic area. TIFs allow a city to re-invest all new property tax dollars in the neighborhood from which they came for a 23-year period, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office. TIFs capture money by devoting all new property taxes to redevelopment. This means that once a TIF is established, taxing bodies in River Forest will get no new revenue from the TIF beyond the level where it was “frozen” when the TIF is approved.
The taxes on all the new property value in the TIF go into the TIF fund and are reinvested in that area, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office. Reinvestments can include property acquisition, infrastructure improvements and renovation and rehabilitation of existing buildings.
The lone TIF district in River Forest took in an area along Lake Street from Harlem on the east to Thatcher on the west. Town Center 1 and 2 and village hall were built as part of that. That TIF closed in 2010.
Approximately $1.9 million from this TIF sits in an economic development fund set up for Keystone Ventures to buy property in the area of Lake and Lathrop, clean up the site, and offer incentives to bring in tenants. Tim Hague, president of Keystone Ventures, has until November to use the money or it will be divvied up among the other taxing districts. Talks on that effort are continuing, Palm said.
CONTACT: deb@oakpark.com
