Elgin eyeing new area for revitalization

An industrial corridor on Elgin's east side might be getting a boost from a special taxing district.

Or at least that's what a potential feasibility study, up for consideration by the city council's committee of the whole Wednesday, would help determine.

The body will decide whether to hire a consultant who would conduct a study on the Bluff City Quarry area - 26 acres of property bounded by Bluff City Boulevard to the north, Gasket Drive to the south, EJ&E railroad tracks to the east and Gifford Road to the west.

The measure would then move to the city council for final approval.

A tax increment financing district is a tool used by municipalities to spur economic development in a specific area. It diverts incremental increases in property tax increases over a defined number of years to fund public improvements in the district rather than sending the money to other taxing bodies.

The area is now home to a storage building, a waste transfer station, a junkyard, a scrap metal recycling business and a compost facility, and part of setting up a TIF district is proving that it's a blighted area.

"There's no doubt that this will qualify," City Manager Femi Folarin said.

Abbott Land owns several pieces of property in that area and asked the city to turn it into a TIF district, Folarin said.

If the study concludes that the corridor qualifies it would become one of the biggest such districts in the city, Folarin said.

Improvements in the district could total $80 million and include street lighting, landscaping, sanitary sewer systems and water main mains.

Veteran Councilman Bob Gilliam said he hopes the improvements translate into bringing businesses that would help contribute to Elgin's bottom line.