Schaumburg approves tax break to help trucking firm build new headquarters
Schaumburg officials have approved a tax incentive to help fund the high cost of wetland mitigation on 55 acres the village hopes to sell to Alsip-based Experior Transport for the trucking firm's new headquarters.
The tax increment financing district village trustees approved Tuesday was identified as a way to generate the up to $20 million in extra funding needed for the work.
The project, which has yet to receive village approval, has stirred opposition from nearby residents of Roselle and unincorporated Schaumburg Township who've raised concerns about noise, pollution and traffic from the proposed trucking facility.
TIF districts work by freezing the amount of property taxes that go to local governments at the level of the first year, with added taxes from the developed land going to a municipally held fund to pay for public improvements. They expire in 23 years, or sooner if all improvements have been paid off, and taxes then are distributed normally again.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently withdrew its claim of federal jurisdiction over the project, leaving the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago as the lead authority on the wetland issues. But Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said wetland mitigation remains necessary for whoever develops the land at the southwest corner of Irving Park and Rodenburg roads.
The withdrawal of the Army Corps may have streamlined the upcoming review process, Frank said. He said he expects Experior to get its wetland plans to water district officials in about two months.
"I know they want to get moving quickly with the MWRD," he said.
The wetlands mitigation plan must be reviewed before Schaumburg officials consider the merits of Experior's headquarters plan. The village's new annual budget forecasts completion of the land sale during the fiscal year ending April 30, 2022.
Experior entered a contract in 2018 to buy the land from Schaumburg for $5 million. Last year the company increased the offer to $7 million if the village helped make the development more cost-effective.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District had found that $15 million to $20 million of wetland mitigation beyond what Experior had planned would be needed.
Though the possibility of this TIF district reaching its goal in only 10 or 12 years has been previously discussed, there's no mention or promise of that in its legal documentation.