Buffalo Grove board OKs incentives, but with reservations
Buffalo Grove is giving tax incentives to a hotel moving into town but not without a fight.
Trustees held a special meeting Monday to discuss whether to let White Lodging Services keep a portion of the village's hotel/motel tax.
The rebates would be for a Hyatt Place Suites hotel in the Berenesa Plaza development at Deerfield Parkway and Milwaukee Avenue.
The village has been trying to develop that area for years and is hoping to have it serve as an entrance to town and an economic boon with restaurant and retail components.
The board delayed a vote from last week to ensure all trustees were present for a vote on the issue.
Village President Elliott Hartstein had to break a tie, with trustees Jeff Berman, Brian Rubin and Steve Trilling against the proposal and trustees Bruce Kahn, Jeff Braiman and De Ann Glover voting in favor.
"Hyatt Place Suites will be a catalyst for other high-end users," Hartstein said. "The developer felt it was important to have the hotel there, and I think it will help him when he's closing the deal with other restaurants."
He said that the village picks and chooses when to give out incentives, but he felt they were warranted in this instance to give a jump-start to the development.
The tax rebate will be half of the village's 6 percent hotel/motel tax for three years and half that amount for an additional 12 years.
Last week, Trilling said he wanted to see the agreement end if the hotel is sold before 15 years. Hartstein said language was added Monday to give the village the option to end the incentives if the hotel changes hands.
Berman said the village always has given out incentives infrequently and to operations such as Dominick's and Weber Grill that will benefit the public.
He said while the developer may think the hotel is necessary, he doesn't feel the public should pay for it.
"I don't feel an incentive should be necessary and in all events is not warranted," he said in a written statement read to the board. "We don't have a burning need or desire to bring another lower-tier/limited service hotel to the village."