Grayslake uses financial lure for Butera Market
An economic incentive package potentially worth $750,000 is awaiting final Grayslake village board approval in an effort to bring Butera Market to a strip shopping center's vacant grocery space.
Butera would occupy what most recently was a roughly 30,000-square-foot Farmers Market Place on the southeast corner of Center Street and Atkinson Road. Farmers Market Place operated for a few months in 2013 after a Piggly Wiggly in the same spot closed in December 2012.
Michael Stewart, managing director of the Grayslake Business Partnership, helped to negotiate the tentative deal with Butera. The partnership is a nonprofit, public-private economic development group with involvement from the village.
With neighboring towns such as Gurnee offering financial inducements to attract or retain major businesses, Grayslake needs to stay competitive, Stewart said. Talks with Butera began about a year ago, he added.
"They're going to invest between $5 million and $7 million in the property, improve the facade, a lot of internal improvements, the parking lot and such," Stewart said of Butera.
Grayslake Mayor Rhett Taylor said the village doesn't have a deep history of luring businesses with financial inducements. It's not yet known when the tentative agreement will be presented to the village board for final approval.
"It's necessary for towns to come up with incentive deals," Taylor said.
Paul Butera Sr., the grocery chain's president and spokesman, could not be reached for comment.
Under the agreement, Butera first would receive $195,000 in cash from the village for new business formation, job creation and the building facade improvements. Butera is expected to create about 80 full- and part-time jobs and have annual sales of roughly $9 million.
"None of that gets paid until they (Butera) bring that site up to current architectural standards of the village and they open their doors," Stewart said. "If those two things don't happen, not a penny is seen by anybody."
Butera would receive up to $555,000 over time in the sales-tax sharing end of the agreement with the village, officials said. The initial funding and the sharing of the village sales tax adds up to a maximum incentive package of $750,000.
Stewart said Butera would have to return all of the public money if it closes or moves from the strip shopping center at Atkinson and Center within 10 years.
Gregory Koeppen, a Grayslake Chamber of Commerce board director and past president, is among those in the business community expressing satisfaction with the pending Butera deal. Koeppen said empty storefronts equate to lost operating revenue for police, fire, schools and other public services in Grayslake.
"When Piggly Wiggly and (Farmers Market Place) closed, we heard from many local residents (who were) disappointed they wouldn't have a choice in choosing where to shop," Koeppen added. "The Butera Market will once again allow residents to have a choice and bring competitive pricing to the marketplace"
Piggly Wiggly operated at Center and Atkinson from 1993 to mid-December 2012. Farmers Market Place opened a few months later and closed in November 2013.