Des Plaines says it wants to jumpstart Five Corners project
Des Plaines seems poised to move on its newest redevelopment area just north of the downtown, planning to borrow $8 million to acquire land in the Five Corners area.
The expenditure is included in the city's spending plan next year, although city officials said there is no specific development plan for the area.
Last November, city officials designated a 70-acre tax-increment financing district around Rand and River roads, saying the project would be driven by private developers.
City officials plan to borrow $8 million in bonds next year to spend $7.5 million on buying land in the taxing district. The remainder would go toward other costs tied to the Five Corners project.
The planned budget also includes $300,000 for a study already in progress. In July, aldermen commissioned a development plan for the taxing district. The team of Chicago-area firms Stephen B. Friedman & Co., The Lakota Group Inc. and Gewalt Hamilton Associates Inc. will get $300,000 for the plan.
The plan is due by spring, although some officials expect it could come by year's end. In anticipation of the recommendations in that study, city officials want to set aside the money.
"There's not a specific plan for over there," said 7th Ward Alderman Don Smith, who is leading budget talks as chairman of the finance committee. "When we get that consultant's report, we've got to do something with this TIF."
City planners previously proposed luring big-box stores to the area, while some residents have questioned how that would work with the train tracks crisscrossing the area.
Business owners in the redevelopment area who have pressed the city on its Five Corners plans reacted Tuesday with questions about the city's land acquisition plans, given its original emphasis on a developer-driven process.
"Obviously, it's in their desire that they're going to use eminent domain," said Ed Lehmann, co-owner of Geiser-Berner Plumbing & Heating. "They said one thing. Then why have this in there?"
Michael Conlan, director of community and economic development, wants the city to take a more active role.
The city would buy property, then sell it to a developer. The city is currently dealing with an unidentified Five Corners business that it could buy, he said.
"It's not a change in philosophy," Conlan said. "We're just trying to jumpstart the process."
There also are plans under way to create a history campus in the area, using the McDonald's museum as an anchor. The city also has proposed relocating the Des Plaines History Center to the area off Lee Street. The proposed budget includes $30,000 to prepare a plan.
Aldermen plan to discuss the city's taxing district plans at their second budget hearing Nov. 7 at city hall as they continue discussing the proposed $120.3 million spending plan.
It includes a plan to increase general fund spending to $55.4 million, up 4.4 percent from this year.