Schaumburg plans access to entertainment district

Schaumburg trustees Tuesday approved a memorandum of understanding for a full interchange on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway at Roselle Road and set a time frame for a new tax increment financing district to pay for it.

The proposed TIF district actually would help fund interchange improvements at both Roselle and Meacham roads as well as other public improvements related to the creation of an entertainment district near the village’s convention center.

Schaumburg Transportation Director June Johnson said the need for the interchange improvements has existed for a long time.

The village’s memorandums of understanding with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority identify the construction periods for the interchanges to be simultaneous from 2014 to 2016, Johnson said.

As plans for an entertainment district similar to but more dense than Rosemont’s progress, Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson said it will help to have the tollway interchanges providing greater access to the area sooner rather than later.

“There’s some exciting things that are going to be going on there,” Larson said.

The village board set a public hearing on the TIF district for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 at village hall, 101 Schaumburg Court.

But before then, there will be both an informational meeting for the public at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, and another for the other taxing bodies financially affected by the TIF district on Oct. 25.

The borders of the district are Algonquin Road to the north, the tollway to the south, Roselle Road to the west and Arbor Drive to the east.

A TIF district works by freezing the property taxes local governments receive at the level of the district’s first year. As values rise, increases in the amount of taxes collected go to a municipally held fund to pay for public improvements within the district. A TIF district expires after 23 years or when all improvements have been paid off, whichever comes first.

This proposed TIF district, which is already responsible for attracting Sunstar Americas Inc. to build its North American headquarters in Schaumburg, is likely to be approved in December or January.