Des Plaines to revise facade rehabilitation program

Des Plaines city officials are developing guidelines for the city's facade rehabilitation program years after it was started after much wrangling at this week's city council meeting over how the grants should be administered.

The program was established by an independent Economic Development Commission and the city council to help downtown business owners improve storefronts and draw more pedestrian traffic.

Currently, it allows property owners or tenants within downtown Tax Increment Financing District No. 1 to apply for one-third to half the project cost of qualifying improvements.

The city council annually allocates $100,000 for the program from the TIF, which has a balance of $1.4 million. The facade rehabilitation program also funds grants for downtown businesses replacing awnings. The city already has awarded 10 grants this year.

Des Plaines Acting City Manager Jason Slowinski said while there were some guidelines written down they were too vague and did not address many of the issues raised by aldermen in recent months.

“It didn't answer some of the big questions,” he said.

Among the issues the new guidelines are expected to address are how many times an individual business or group can apply for a grant under the program and whether there should be a limit on the amount of money awarded to one applicant, Des Plaines Community Development Director Mike Bartholomew said.

The impetus for the review came after the city received two grant applications from a nonprofit group for facade rehab work on one building totaling more than $70,000 in reimbursements, which would pretty much exhaust the money left in the program's budget, officials said.

City officials in August paid out a $41,000 rebate for the Greek American Restaurant Association's building at 733 Lee St. Building co-owner George Sourounis applied for the grant in November 2010, submitting a project proposal totaling more than $285,000.

Though the project was eligible for a rebate of more than $95,000, the city only granted $41,000 because that is what was left in the fund at the end of the previous calendar year.

Money leftover in the program fund rolls over to the next calendar year.

In March, the city received a second grant application by the restaurant association building co-owner Thomas Diamond for another facade project that included installing new windows. The estimated cost for the project is about $90,000 so the business would be eligible for a $30,000 rebate.

The program fund currently has roughly $21,000 remaining for the calendar year. The city still has outstanding grant applications from other local businesses wanting to redo facades and awnings.

Though the Economic Development Commission approved the rebate in May, the city council denied it this week.

Bartholomew said in his seven months working with the city, the Economic Development Commission has not once denied a grant request.

“Something's wrong here with this program,” Des Plaines Ward 4 Alderman Dick Sayad said. “Has spending $100,000 the past two years, has that done anything to make downtown better, generated new revenue?”

Several aldermen were not satisfied that the owner got a quote from only one contractor for replacing windows.

“I just get the feeling we are making up the rules as we go along,” Ward 5 Alderman James Brookman said. “Can we really dictate what contractor a business owner should use?”

Ward 3 Alderman Matt Bogusz suggested rebates be tied to projects that help businesses that generate sales or liquor taxes.

Despite disagreement over the facade program, aldermen approved guidelines for the awning initiative program, clearing the way for three downtown businesses to receive up to $5,000 each to replace awnings.

New guidelines for the facade program likely will be vetted by the city's community development committee within the next month before it goes to the full city council for approval, Slowinski said.