Schaumburg to annex site for Japanese firm's plant
Schaumburg officials hope to make unlikely neighbors of a medieval English castle and a high-tech Japanese company's newest production plant.
On Tuesday, trustees will discuss an inducement resolution for Sunstar Americas Inc. to build a 300,000-square-foot building on 80 acres north and east of Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament north of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and east of Roselle Road.
The site is unincorporated, undeveloped and owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago, Schaumburg Village Manager Ken Fritz said.
Though the site has long been targeted for commercial development in the village's comprehensive land use plan, the archdiocese resisted selling it until recently, Fritz said.
Schaumburg is already working out an annexation agreement for the site that would take effect next month in conjunction with Sunstar's purchase of it.
But the resolution to be considered Tuesday calls for Schaumburg's construction of a public road — essentially an eastward extension of Central Road — using public funds from a tax-increment financing district that would be established along the Algonquin Road commercial corridor later this year.
While most TIF-eligible projects get approved after a TIF district is established, the resolution would ensure the road construction will be eligible when the TIF district is created later, Fritz said. In a TIF, property taxes going to local governments are frozen at a certain level, and any taxes generated above that go back into the development.
Sunstar, which already has a presence in Elgin, is an 81-year-old company that provides products and services in more than 90 countries around the world, according to its website.
Having begun as a manufacturer of bicycle parts and rubber glue in Japan, the company is now headquartered in Switzerland and has a diverse portfolio that includes oral care products and motorcycle components.
The proposed Schaumburg location would take over production of toothbrushes and other related products from an aging facility in Chicago, Schaumburg's Economic Development Manager Matt Frank said.
The village board will discuss the proposed resolution at its committee of the whole meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at village hall, 101 Schaumburg Court. A vote on it is expected to follow at the village board meeting of 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 23.