Buffalo Grove trustees OK final plan, up to $22.75M in incentives for Town Center redevelopment

Buffalo Grove trustees Monday approved the final plan for the rebirth of the Town Center shopping center into The Clove.

Trustees also voted in favor of a redevelopment agreement under which the developer could receive up to $22.75 million in incentives.

The village's financial contribution will come from a mixture of tax increment financing revenue notes and sales tax sharing.

"The village is not raising taxes or taking on debt to pay for the project," Deputy Village Manager Christopher Stilling said. "We are simply repaying them new revenues generated as a result of the investment in the TIF district."

TIF districts freeze property taxes paid to the local governments at their current levels for 23 years.

The $150 million redevelopment of the 20-acre property at Lake-Cook Road and McHenry Road is the biggest such project in the village's history.

It will include a seven-story apartment building with ground-floor retail, outlots with restaurants and a central park area.

Village board members referenced the Town Center's troubled history in their remarks.

Village President Beverly Sussman reminded listeners that Town Center was a major campaign issue 14 years ago.

"It's amazing that it's taken this long, but here we are," she said.

Kensington Development Partners and its partner for the residential part of the development, Urban Street, have committed to revitalizing the dormant center.

The developer has already received a commitment from a grocer and two restaurants, Guzman y Gomez, and Chick-fil-A.

Jay Eck, principal with Kensington Development Partners, said the process has involved much hard work and the overcoming of challenges, including COVID-19.

One of the reasons "we're still standing and we're ready to move forward," he said, is "the strength of Buffalo Grove, an outstanding suburban community, highly desirable."

Trustee David Weidenfeld said the project puts "all the eggs sort of in this one basket," but added, "We chose a pretty good basket."

The agreement sets a number of performance goals Kensington has to meet in order to earn the financial incentive. Among them, 90% percent of the project must be completed by June 30, 2026.

It also establishes penalties for not meeting those goals.