Batavia again mulling new downtown TIF district
The city of Batavia is again discussing a potential new tax increment financing, or TIF, district in a portion of its downtown.
A TIF district is a sort of economic development tool that essentially freezes the amount of property tax revenue each taxing body receives from an area at the point at which the TIF is instituted. The extra or “increment” taxes created by the development of the property go into a special fund used to pay for costs related to improving the area.
The proposed TIF District 7 is set to include a segment of Batavia’s downtown, largely west of the Fox River. The potential redevelopment area generally includes property south of Wilson Street, north of Union Avenue, west of South River Street and east of South Lincoln Street.
Earlier this year, the city opted to pump the brakes on moving forward with the new TIF district, indicating it wanted additional time to review the proposal.
The city had initially planned to hold a public hearing about the proposed new TIF district in April, but it was canceled, and the city moved to terminate further actions related to the proposed TIF district until the mayor and city council took action on it. At the time, the city was looking to schedule a public hearing in October or November, with a council vote expected in December or January.
Now, the matter is again before the city council’s committee of the whole.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the committee considered a resolution initiating a review process for the proposed TIF district, including setting a Joint Review Board meeting and public hearing for it.
Included in what may one day be the new TIF district is the new QT9 headquarters, which is moving from Aurora to downtown Batavia. The software company will be setting up shop at 190 S. Water St., a former factory site.
That project has already begun, according to Scott Buening, the city’s community and economic development director.
The new headquarters is slated to get almost $1.9 million in TIF funds to help with renovation costs. Its new location currently sits within Batavia’s TIF District 3, which is set to expire in 2039, but would be removed from that district and placed into TIF District 7 should the latter be created.
Following a short discussion by the city’s aldermen, the measure establishing the Joint Review Board meeting and public hearing for the proposed TIF district was recommended for approval at the committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday. The matter is now set to come before the city council at its meeting on Nov. 2.
The Joint Review Board meeting is proposed for Nov. 30, a city memo indicated, while the public hearing is proposed for Jan. 4. From there, the TIF district could be formally created, according to Buening.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com