Bensensville extends golf course taxing district
Bensenville leaders hope an extension of the tax increment financing district for the old Legends of Bensenville golf course will attract new business to the village.
On Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation extending the district, or TIF, for the 50-acre site at County Line Road and Grand Avenue that is owned and maintained by Bensenville. The TIF was created in the mid-’90s and set to expire in about seven years, but the legislation extends the district for another 12 years beyond that.
Tax increment financing is a tool used by communities to finance certain types of development, including improving blighted areas, providing jobs and increasing the tax base. In a TIF district, property tax payments to other taxing bodies such as schools are frozen at the level in place when the district is formed.
The benefit of any increase in assessed valuation isn’t shared, but is used to pay for improvements — such as building improvements — in the TIF district for the length of its term.
Bensenville bought the golf course property in 1997, where the John G. Sexton Landfill once stood, for $2.7 million. In 2002, construction began there to create the golf course, which ultimately failed. The village attempted to auction the nine-hole course in 2008 and, last year, leaders rejected a paintball business that hoped to open on the site.
“This is attempting to fix the problem that existed when Bensenville created a TIF to purchase property, make it municipally owned and operate a golf course that did very poorly,” said Village President Frank Soto, adding that it costs about $1.2 million for Bensenville to maintain the site as an undeveloped property.
The golf course was closed before Soto was elected to office, and he said the current goal is to get the property back in the hands of the private sector. State Sen. Don Harmon and Sen. Carole Pankau advocated for the TIF extension, along with State Rep. Angelo “Skip” Saviano and Rep. Karen Yarbrough.
“It would have been unprofitable for a company to come without Bensenville being able to offer some incentives, and this allows us to do that,” Soto said. “We have 52 acres of undeveloped land located in DuPage County at a point where we see the Elgin-O’Hare extension coming, along with other development in the area ... so this has a lot of potential.”
Soto said he already has received inquiries about the site, but would not specify any specific businesses.