Butcher shop may get $551K grant to open in Geneva
A custom butcher shop plans to open on the east side of Geneva with the aid of a $551,000 grant from the city.
Aldermen gave an unofficial thumbs-up to the idea on Monday. A binding vote is scheduled for Dec. 21.
Geneva residents Paul and Laurie Darrow plan to open a second site for Country Village Meats, a business they bought two years ago in Sublette, Illinois. In addition to the store in front, the Geneva location would have some meat processing in the rear, including a smokehouse.
"Laurie and I have a real passion for the small business community," Paul Darrow told aldermen. "We think this (project) checks all the boxes."
He said the business in Sublette, home to the Woodhaven Lakes camping resort, draws customers from many miles away.
"It is a significant request, but it is a significant project," said Catherine Tymoszenko, Geneva's economic development director.
She said that since Soukup's Appliances closed in 2011, the first-floor space was divided into three tenant spaces and a variety of businesses have come and gone. The Geneva Township assessor recently reduced the building's equalized assessed value by 25%, Tymoszenko said.
The money would come from the East State Street Tax Increment Financing District fund, which currently has a balance of more than $1.1 million. The TIF district, where property taxes above a certain point have gone into development rather than local governments, was created in 2000 and expires in 2023. Projects it supported include the construction of the Munchie P's restaurant, the CVS Pharmacy and the Aldi grocery store.
But there have been few requests in the last decade.
The Darrows estimate it will cost almost $2.08 million to buy the 70-year-old main building and its 1997 addition, renovate it and install equipment and furnishings.
They will have to upgrade the electrical and water systems and fire safety equipment. They also plan to build a new side door for customers, install new windows, remove some asbestos-containing materials and upgrade the facade, landscaping and parking lot.
In addition, they will improve the four apartments on the second floor. The apartments are considered affordable housing. The Darrows have pledged to keep it affordable, and that requirement is being written in to the development agreement.
The city would donate part of an adjacent parking area at the city's east-side water tower site. The city doesn't use that portion of the property, and used to rent it to the appliance store for parking.
The building has been up for sale since 2006.
"I've had some reservations on some of the TIFs in the past," Alderman Dean Kilburg said. "I think this one is a winner."
If the agreement is approved Dec. 21, work would begin soon thereafter. The Darrows want to open the store in the spring.