Village announces tentative approval to new TIF district
Tinley Park officials have given tentative approval Tuesday for creating the village’s fifth tax increment financing district, with final approval expected by the Village Board on Aug. 18.
The proposed TIF would encompass a bit more than 250 areas and take in retail properties including Park Center Plaza on the west side of Harlem and south of 159th, Tinley Park Plaza on Harlem’s east side as well as Menards on 159th.
The village could use revenue generated by the TIF to cover the cost of infrastructure improvements as well as provide incentives to developers. Officials have said they hope creating the TIF will help fill numerous vacancies along the commercial corridor.
Creation of the TIF comes as plans are advancing for reuse of some vacant commercial properties along Harlem.
Brixmor Property Group, which owns Tinley Park Plaza, is seeking village approval for plans that would include the demolition of 87,000 square feet of existing space and constructing 66,000 square feet of new retail space.
Chicago-area grocery chain Pete’s Fresh Market plans to build a store at the site of the shuttered Kmart at 163rd Street and Harlem and use a portion of the store to warehouse nongrocery items.
Just to the north of the former Kmart, at 16200 S. Harlem, Missouri-based restaurant chain Bandana’s Bar-B-Q also plans to open soon in a long-vacant 4,200 square-foot building.
Most recently a sports bar and prior to that an Applebee’s restaurant, the property Bandana’s will occupy would be the company’s first location in the Chicago market.
Municipalities use TIFs to generate development, such as in commercial areas where vacant storefronts have multiplied, or on parcels of vacant land.
Property tax revenues for all government bodies in the district are frozen at current levels, and communities use any increase in property tax revenue, the increment, to pay for public improvements such as new streets, sidewalks, water and sewer lines or offer incentives to developers.
The increase in tax revenue can come from new development or an increase in the value of existing property within the TIF district. The incremental revenue can also be used to pay debt service on municipal bonds issued to finance improvements within a TIF district.
The typical life span of a TIF is 23 years, even though that can be extended, and TIFs can be ended before 23 years.
Earlier this year, Tinley Park trustees had designated much of the same area that the TIF would include as “blighted” in order for commercial property owners to be eligible for property tax breaks offered by Cook County, which is what Bandana’s is doing.