Rosemont agrees to loan 2 TIF districts money
Rosemont is loaning money from its general village fund to a pair of tax increment financing district funds, but plans to pay it back once redevelopment occurs.
The village board last week agreed to loan $10 million from the general fund to the fund of TIF 7, established last February in an effort to spur redevelopment northwest of the intersection of Higgins and Mannheim roads. It's an area that includes the Allstate Arena, the former Wyndham O'Hare Hotel that is being renovated and split into two separate hotels, and a vacant 20-acre property that used to be a par 3 golf course.
So far, only proposed arena parking lot and Mannheim Road entrance improvements have been publicly identified as projects eligible for TIF funds.
The board also agreed to increase the total maximum authorized loan amount to TIF 6 by $7.5 million to $20 million. At the same time, the board agreed to expand the boundaries of TIF 6 to include some of the properties formerly in TIF 1, which expired at the end of 2014.
TIF 6 was established in 2013 when village officials agreed to provide a $12 million tax incentive to spur construction of a hotel, office building and parking garage at the northwest corner of River and Higgins roads. While parts of the project are still under construction, the office building recently opened.
Property taxes paid to local governments by property owners within a TIF district are frozen for as many as 23 years. Taxes above that level collected within the area go into a special fund controlled by the village, to be used to pay for public and private improvements that aid redevelopment.
Mayor Brad Stephens expressed confidence that redevelopment would occur within the TIFs, and the general fund would be reimbursed.