Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcu
To respond to all the hostile remarks…
I’m not sure I ever said Woodfield is doing poorly. I simply said that Woodfield-style malls are to passé for an average suburb and the streets of woodfield type thing is in.
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Passe' is a lot different than your original statement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcu
About the Joliet mall: Malls aren't a thing of the past. Woodfield-style (confusing, and mostly indoor) malls are a thing of the past.
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I'm not a fan of malls...indoor or out door nor am I a fan of big box.
NOTE in an Article below there is a history of all the TIFS in Evanston. It appears it isn't strip malls nor highways that created those strip malls...rather our good friend the TIFS:
http://www.evanstonroundtable.com/rt...2904/news.html
EVANSTON ROUND TABLE: Volume VII Number 26
December 29, 2004
Report Shows City’s TIF Districts on Target
By Mary Helt Gavin
At the annual meeting of the Joint Review Board, held earlier this month, City staff presented information about each of the City’s TIF, or tax-increment financing, districts. In a TIF district, the tax increment (the difference between the taxes on the property as improved and as unimproved) is paid into a TIF fund for the life of the TIF and is used for public improvements within the district. For example, in both the downtown TIFs, the tax increment is used to build the new parking garages.
The Joint Review Board is composed of representatives from taxing bodies with a stake in the TIF funds, such as the two school districts, Oakton Community College and the North Shore Mosquito Abatement Districts. The TIFs are all generating revenues at their targeted levels, said Dennis Marino, assistant City planner, and Bill Stafford, finance director.
Creating a TIF district is one way of enticing developers to an economically slow area, because for the the life of the TIF - typically 23 years - the tax increment can be used to pay for public improvements that may encourage commercial development, such as a public parking garage. However, said Mr. Marino, because the school districts do not share in the tax increment during the life of the TIF, the City in the past few years has looked to alternative means of enticing development. For example, he said, the City forged different agreements with the Dempster-Dodge, Home Depot and Main-McCormick developers.
Below is a description, provided by the City, of each of the City’s TIF districts.
Howard-Hartrey TIF: Evanston’s “downtown”
This TIF, created in 1992 and located in the southwest corner of Evanston, has been called “Evanton’s downtown” by the City’s finance department because of the sales tax revenue it generates. It includes the Jewel Food store and the big box stores of Best Buy, Target and Office Max but does not include the stand-alone businesses, said Mr. Marino. Vineyard Christian Fellowship has purchased the western half of the former Shure Brothers property - located behind the shopping center but not in the TIF - and the eastern half remains for sale, he added.
Mr. Stafford said the City has $7.7 million in bonds outstanding and added, “We’re on target.”
From a railroad spur: The (Sam’s Club) Southwest TIF
This TIF was created in 1990 from the old Northwestern Mayfair railroad line, a spur that served the industrial area of southwest Evanston, said Mr. Marino. The City paid for the relocation of Ward Manufacturing from that area to a few blocks away. “It has been fairly successful because of Sam’s Club. This is one of the top three Sam’s Clubs in Illinois,” he said.
The Food For Less store, which anchors the adjacent Evanston Market shopping area, has a different agreement with the City, said Mr. Marino. Under it the City will reimburse the developer $1.5 million in taxes over 10 years. Anna’s Linens, Marshall’s and, coming soon, Starbuck’s are part of that redevelopment agreement, not the TIF.
Property taxes there are relatively stable, said Mr. Stafford, adding that certain funds from this TIF were shared with School Districts 65 and 202 under an intergovernmental agreement.
The former incinerator and City pound: Downtown II
The property in this district - located between Emerson and Church streets from the CTA to the Metra tracks - was home at one time to the City’s incinerator, said Mr. Marino, and later to the Levy Senior Center, a Dominick’s Food Store, Dave’s Italian Kitchen and Pine Yard restaurants. It now holds the new movie theater complex, the Maple Avenue garage, the McDougal, Littell building, the 1800 Sherman building and two Optima condominium developments.
The TIF, created in 1985, is fully developed, though not all spaces are leased. Two restaurants there - Corner Bakery and Baja Fresh - closed recently.
“It was not the [Evanston] market that caused the closing but internal problems with the companies,” Acting City Manager Judith Aiello said. “Another restaurant will take the place of Baja Fresh, and a home-furnishings/soft goods type of operation will take over the Corner Bakery spot.” She added, “We’ll be adding unobtrusive greenery and public art, because we had some public art money left over [from the art for the Maple Avenue Garage].”
Mr. Stafford said revenues from the movie theaters are good; the City’s figures show more than a million movie sales annually. However, he said the parking revenue is sub par, and the City plans to revamp the fee and fine structures for all public parking in the coming fiscal year.
He added that $38 million in bonds remains to be paid but, “in spite of the bonds, we think this TIF is in healthy shape. We will be paying the bonds down aggressively.” A substantial portion of the bonds was issued to pay for the Maple Avenue garage. As in previous years, about $800,000 in funds from this TIF was transferred to the Washington National TIF, since that TIF was amended.
Washington National TIF Now Includes Sherman Plaza
Created in 1994, the Washington National TIF originally contained the Whole Foods store and the high-rise apartment building adjacent to it, said Mr. Marino. However, the TIF was amended in 1999 and the area expanded along Davis Street to include what is now the Sherman Plaza development, nearly the entire Church-Sherman-Davis-Benson block, he said.
“The taxes from this TIF were about $1 million last year and we expect about $1 million again this year,” said Mr. Stafford. Alluding to the construction of the new Sherman Avenue garage, he said, “I hope by this time next year we will have spent another $30 milliion.”
Ms. Aiello said the developer of Sherman Plaza finally closed on the loans to begin the development, which will house a new City-owned public parking garage, a residential development with 253 condominiums, and 156,000 square feet of retail, including Pier One Imports, Ann Taylor Lofts, Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa and Barnes and Noble [relocating from across the street].
In addition the developer is negotiating with an athletic club. “[James] Klutznick [the developer] will re-tenant the Barnes & Noble space with a soft-goods user - not a coffee shop and not a restaurant. There will be no restaurants in this development,” she said, adding, “80,000 square feet still needs to be rented. The main change is that Osco will not return to the development. The store will close. The corporate headquarters has determined that stand-alone Oscos don’t do as well as Oscos with Jewel food stores, so they’re taking a look at all the free-standing Oscos.”
Regarding the new parking garage, which will be financed with TIF funds, Ms. Aiello said the construction has begun and “We’re moving along. Design bids are coming in much higher than anticipated because of cement and steel prices. We’re doing some value engineering on the garage right now.”
It is expected the garage will take 16 or 17 months to build, she said, and the target date for the condominiums, 52 percent of which are already sold, is April, 2006.
Other TIFs
The Howard Street TIF, created earlier this year, has as yet seen no development. It runs in a thin strip along the north side of Howard Street for a large part of the block east of Chicago Avenue and includes some parcels along Chicago Avenue. “It has long been a priority for economic development. This year it yielded $669 in property taxes,” said Mr. Stafford. “The major project there is the [Chicago-based] Bristol development project. Bristol would like to build a 16-story apartment complex with 220 rental units. Our feeling is that if that development plays out it, will be a great complement to the Gateway project across the street [in Chicago].”
He also said some small businesses have expressed interest in other parcels.
In addition, the City is moving forward with a West Evanston TIF, said Mr. Stafford. “Kane McKenna [the City’s consultant] is doing a feasibility study, and we hope for a report by the end of January,” he said. Although the boundaries of the TIF - approved in concept by City Council earlier this year - are not precise, it would likely enclose much of the Church-Dodge area, as well as properties to the east, north and west of the intersection.
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