Aldi buys vacant lot on Geneva's east side

GENEVA – Aldi Inc. purchased a vacant lot next to the former Orlando's Pizza in Geneva for $485,000 this fall, property records show.

The lot, at 801 E. State St., is .42 of an acre, and situated on the northwest corner of East Side Drive and East State Street in Geneva, records show.

The parcel where the former pizza restaurant is still located, 821 E. State St., is .14 of an acre. It stands between the Aldi, at 975 E. State St., and the vacant lot the parent company just purchased on Oct. 23.

Orlando's Pizza closed in 2014 after 40 years and has been vacant ever since.

A spokeswoman for Aldi responded to a request for information in an email, stating, “At this time, we don't have any updates regarding the Geneva property, but we will be in touch if we have information to share at a later date.”

City officials also stated they did not know what plans Aldi has for the property.

The parcel is located within the East State Street Tax Increment Financing District. A tax increment financing district is a development tool that redirects increased property taxes for public improvements, such as roads and sewers, as well as other purposes as state law allows.

Once established, a district's property value is frozen and anything generated from the improvements is the tax increment.

Since it was established in 2000, several businesses in the area, including the Aldi grocery store, have received TIF support.

Aldi bought the property on Geneva’s east side in 2007, property records show.

The other commercial development that benefited from the TIF are CVS pharmacy, Valley Animal Hospital, Munchie P's restaurant, Dairy Queen, Don’s Gas for Less and Soukup’s Appliances, city records show.

According to city documents, Aldi invested $2.6 million and the TIF invested $450,000 for the redevelopment of that site.

Last year, Aldi remodeled and expanded the store by 1,404 square feet from its original 116,115 square feet, officials said. Geneva’s Aldi had reopened Nov. 9, 2017.