Schaumburg extends TIF district to Loeber Farm for controversial residential development
Three months after approving the controversial 33-acre Loeber Farm development, Schaumburg trustees approved a tax incentive extension to fund public improvements.
The expansion of the tax increment financing district along Meacham Road aims to cover utilities, a bridge over Salt Creek and flooding solutions.
The Loeber Farm has seen various residential proposals in the 21st century. This January, the Elmhurst-based Nitti Group's plan for 43 single-family homes, 37 row houses, and 42 townhouses was approved. It replaced a withdrawn plan for 357 rental units, which faced strong opposition from Rolling Meadows residents.
That replaced a proposal for 357 apartment, townhouse and row home rental units that residents and officials in Rolling Meadows strongly objected to in 2024 before it was withdrawn.
Neighbors at the approval vote remained skeptical about the current plan's effect on their properties. Rolling Meadows resident Mike Bryskier wished local governments on the TIF district's review board would question the extension. He voiced concerns that flooding issues would persist.
“No approved plan to alleviate the flooding has been presented, and the eligibility finding remains incomplete,” Bryskier said. “The question is no longer whether the property floods — (the village’s engineering consultant) CBBEL has answered that. The question is whether the stormwater plan is built to handle it. It is not.”
Only seven of the joint review board’s 12 local governments attended a meeting for the extension’s recommendation and all voted yes.
A TIF district freezes property taxes for local governments at the level of the first year. As land is improved and its value rises, the increased taxes fund public improvements and other eligible expenses for up to 23 years.
The total development cost of the Nitti project is estimated at $82 million. The village is considering giving $4.8 million to eligible projects from the $17 million in TIF revenue the site is expected to generate during the remaining life of the district.
The TIF district can last 23 years, but the current one is already 12 years old. There’s enough time left to generate funds for public improvements, said Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank.
The TIF extension also includes one acre at South Thorntree Lane and East Algonquin Road, where a village gateway sign has replaced the old Frankly Yours hot dog stand, and six acres near Medieval Times’ horse stables east of Roselle Road.