Wheeling could give airport developer $500,000 in TIF funds

Wheeling trustees will vote soon on a plan to give an aviation developer $500,000 in tax increment financing money to build a new hanger at Wheeling's Chicago Executive Airport.

The developer, International Aviation Properties, of the Virgin Islands, wants to build the hanger on east side of the airport's control tower. It would house five planes and cost about $5 million to build, said airport manager Dennis Rouleau.

The hanger will be about 20,000 square feet and there will also be about 10,000 square feet of office space, he added.

"Because the taxes are so high here compared to our competitors in Waukegan and DuPage, the TIF will help balance everything out," Rouleau said. No Wheeling trustee voiced objection to the plan when it was presented at a committee meeting Monday by Wheeling's director of economic development Peter Vadopalas.

The airport sits in the fairly new Southeast TIF, that was declared blighted by the village board in 2008. The TIF extends south along Milwaukee Avenue to Prospect Heights, Vadopalas said.

In a TIF district, tax revenue generated by a property's increasing value is diverted to a special fund that pays for improvements there, such as landscaping or sewer upgrades.

TIF districts can be controversial because other government agencies that rely on property taxes, like schools and libraries, don't receive the increases in tax money for up to 23 years.

In total, Wheeling has five TIF districts.

The developer's $500,000 would be spent on soft costs such as engineering and site preparations, Vadopalas said.

The board will vote on the plan in later this month or in July. If approved, it will be the first time an airport developer will get TIF funds, Rouleau said.

About two years ago, another developer wanted to build a gas station on the airport's site, but those plans fell through because of the economy, Rouleau said.