Hoffman hotel plans in motion after Blago veto overrode

Springfield lawmakers have reversed Gov. Rod Blagojevich's veto that had jeopardized plans for a $100 million hotel in Hoffman Estates.

The Illinois Senate on Tuesday unanimously overrode the governor's veto for House Bill 5730, which would free up property tax money to build a full-service hotel near the Stonegate Conference Centre on Higgins Road. That came a day after the House overrode the veto by a 105-5 vote, with two lawmakers voting present.

The overwhelming response more than met the necessary two-thirds margin needed to override. The Senate had initially approved the bill unanimously last year; in the House the vote was 92-20.

Blagojevich's stated reasons for the veto was that "resources from tax increment financing districts are not intended to be inexhaustible." The bill requested to freeze property taxes at the Stonegate TIF for 12 years beyond the TIF's traditional 23-year life. The additional taxes pay for development instead of going to taxing bodies like school or library districts.

With the veto now overridden, the village will meet with officials from Stonegate and Wyndham to negotiate a development agreement, Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod said. Officials say the 300- to 350-room hotel could bring 200 jobs.

"It's a tremendous opportunity for jobs in terms of economic development," McLeod said. "I think it ties in with what President(-elect) Obama wants to do."

That's not the only development news for businesses along Higgins Road. The Dutch owners of Barrington Square Mall seem prepared for changes at the 230,000 square-foot strip mall across the street from Stonegate. Mall owners proposed their own TIF district to the village board Monday.

A grocery store such as Jewel or Dominick's likely wouldn't make enough money at the site, said attorney Geoffrey Dickinson, who represents Barrington Square. That also rules out higher-end stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. Dickinson told the village board if all goes well, his clients want to demolish the vacant Menard's building as early as June.

Developers are struggling with finding tenants, as retailers don't want to compete with stores in nearby Schaumburg and South Barrington. Representatives from True Value Hardware do remain interested the site.

Richard Griggs runs the Poplar Creek Bowl inside Barrington Square. He said he hasn't been approached about any redevelopment plans by the mall's owners.

Last year, a plan was presented to the village board for an off-track betting parlor inside the bowling alley. The plan never progressed. Griggs reasoned betting would bring in more customers, a problem Barrington Square seems to have.

"I think the goal of any mall is to bring more people in," Griggs said.

With the Menards store closing in December, mall owners believe now is the best time to reconfigure the mall. The owners would pledge up to $4.8 million, which covers 28 percent of the estimated $17.1 million in redevelopment costs. The mall was built in the early 1970s, and owners wants to add landscaping for a "town center feel."

"I think the TIF is probably the only way to go to really put life into this area," Trustee Cary Collins said.