Mount Prospect-based manufacturing firm to expand in Lake Villa
A leading manufacturer of antiseptic products is repurposing a long-vacant building in Lake Villa as part of a future expansion.
Mount Prospect-based Xttrium Laboratories Inc., decided on Lake Villa for the project because of its access to major roads, Lake County's workforce and a property tax incentive from the village.
Xttrium has upgraded fire suppression and other systems at the former Fred W. Losch Beverage Company building in the Park Place business center, just west of Route 83 and south of Grand Avenue, and has begun warehouse, shipping and receiving operations.
The company also acquired four adjoining acres and is committed to expanding the building at a time to be determined, said Executive Vice President Madeline Creevy.
The 85-year-old company produces more than 150 different FDA-approved infection prevention and health care products and is at a "critical juncture" in its growth, Creevy added in a recent statement announcing the project.
"The new Lake County location will provide direct access to phenomenal talent and proximity to the thriving manufacturing and life sciences network that we need to build on our success," she said.
According to Lake County Partners, the county's economic development arm, Xttrium plans an 80,000-square-foot addition to the 61,000-square-foot building. Thirty jobs will be created, with 20 to 25 more when the expansion occurs.
Xttrium's actions followed the village's designation of the area as a tax increment financing district, an incentive in which property tax disbursements to schools, libraries and other local governments are frozen at current levels.
Any additional tax revenue generated by rising property values goes into a special fund to pay for improvements within the district.
TIF districts typically last for 23 years and the increment is not shared with affected taxing bodies. However, in this case, the term is 15 years and taxing bodies will receive 50% of the increase in what village officials described as a "creative" solution.
Lake County Partners brought the Lake Villa site to Xttrium's attention, according to Village Administrator Karl Warwick.
The village last fall discussed the proposed incentive with the seven other affected taxing bodies besides the village.
Warwick said the building has been vacant for more than five years and there has been little other interest in it.
"The property taxes had declined substantially," he said. Xttrium's occupancy will immediately boost that amount for all districts, he added.
Estimated annual property taxes would increase from $105,000 to $400,000 with the building addition, according to Warwick. He said the village is finalizing the maximum amount of TIF eligible expenses Xttrium will receive under the agreement.
Kevin Considine, president and CEO of Lake County Partners, said several companies have made large investments in Lake County the past year. One in seven jobs in Lake County now is in manufacturing, he added, and about a third of the county's gross regional product comes from the industry.