Mount Prospect OKs new TIF district for village's downtown
In a bid to spur redevelopment of its struggling downtown, the Mount Prospect village board voted Tuesday to create a new tax increment financing district covering more than 235 parcels on nearly 180 acres in the area around South Main Street and East Prospect Avenue.
Under the TIF district, additional property tax revenue generated by new development within that area will be redirected to a special fund and used to pay for infrastructure improvements, economic incentives and other efforts to lure new business and development. The TIF lasts up to 23 years, though officials hope to retire it earlier.
Proponents Tuesday said the new TIF district is necessary because growth and property values in Mount Prospect's downtown are falling behind nearby communities as well as other parts of the village.
"I look up and down the train line. You will see development in every community - from Park Ridge to Des Plaines to Edison Park to Palatine to Arlington Heights," Trustee John Matuszak said. "You don't see that in Mount Prospect. You will see buildings that are a little tired. You will see empty lots that aren't being developed."
Trustee Paul Hoefert suggested that the downtown has emerged as something of a hole in the village, while other parts of the community - such as Kensington Business Center and Randhurst Village - are seeing a boom.
"In my mind one of the areas that lags is our downtown," he said. "It is documented that (property value) in the downtown area is falling and it has been falling for the last five or six years. In my estimation, it would be extremely irresponsible for this board not to act."
The new TIF district will include properties from the original downtown TIF, which was retired at the end of last year, as well as new parcels. According to the village, the first downtown TIF led to the development of more than 500 new residential units and more than 40,000 square feet of new retail space.
Mayor Arlene Juracek acknowledged concerns raised about the new TIF district but said some are based on "incomplete information or outdated information."
To those who suggested that the village levy a property tax increase to spur particular developments rather than a TIF area, she said there have been bills in Springfield that would restrict the ability of home-rule communities to increase property taxes, or even impose a possible property tax freeze.
"Property taxes put the risk on the taxpayer," she said. "Our belief from day one on this village board has been the risk for a project needs to be on the developer, not on the taxpayer."
Trustee Michael Zadel said each project that might get started because of the TIF district will receive the same scrutiny as any other development in the community.
"We're looking for developers who have a very strong influence on the market and have had high success in the past," he said.
Trustee Richard Rogers pointed out that there are several parcels in the TIF area that need redevelopment.
"There are some parcels that have fallen out of favor, and I think it's important that these parcels be upgraded," he said.
Rogers also praised the recently expired TIF area, saying it added about $18 million of value to the existing tax base.