Algonquin exploring TIF district for potential new corporate campus at Longmeadow Parkway, Randall Road

The village of Algonquin is exploring the possibility of setting up a tax increment financing district for a new corporate campus on the southwest corner of Longmeadow Parkway and Randall Road.

Missouri-based development company NorthPoint Development is proposing the campus, the plan for which received a thumbs-up by a 4-0 vote from Planning and Zoning Commission members earlier this week.

Across this corporate campus, anything from a business headquarters to an industrial manufacturer to logistics facilities could become tenants, as previously reported by the Northwest Herald.

The high-end, industrial and business tech park that NorthPoint is proposing adheres to the village’s long-range vision for that area, said Mike Darrow, Algonquin’s community development consultant.

A TIF district could be advantageous not only to NorthPoint but also to Algonquin, he said.

TIF districts give municipal governments the option to earmark property tax revenue generated within the district for improvements that will help foster economic progress and job creation. They typically are approved for areas where economic growth has been blighted and where there is a need for development or redevelopment.

After the Planning and Zoning Commission’s vote, the Village Board met Tuesday and approved a public hearing for 7 p.m. Nov. 2 to gather community feedback on the potential new TIF district on Longmeadow and Randall.

To gauge whether the parcel is eligible for a TIF district, the village asked Johnson Research Group in Chicago to study whether the area was considered a “blighted” area under state law.

On the whole, Johnson Research Group found the property has not been subject to growth and development through investment by private enterprise and “is not reasonably expected to be developed without public intervention and leadership by the village,” according to documents attached to Tuesday’s meeting agenda packet.

Johnson Research Group cited chronic flooding in the area, leading to standing water, saturated soils and nonfunctioning drainage ways, as contributing factors.

“To reduce flooding on-site and mitigate off-site flooding impacts downstream, the proposed system requires 4.3 million cubic feet of stormwater storage via naturalized detention basis throughout the development,” according to the group’s findings. “Stormwater management facilities will reduce chronic flooding and outlet flows by 20%, providing both on-site and surrounding benefits including to Huntley Road and downstream areas.”

The use of incremental property taxes from the TIF would allow the village to “direct, implement and coordinate public involvement and activities” that are intended to stimulate private investment within the project area, including installing the 4.3 million cubic foot stormwater storage system.

Doing this, the research group said, would promote the stability of industrial activities and related development, enhance and stabilize the land’s value and protect the village’s tax base, while also ensuring the protection of the natural environment and human health.

About $25 million in redevelopment project costs are estimated, Johnson Research Group said. These include the financing, analysis, administration, studies, surveys and marketing, as well as the public works improvements.

Although the funds necessary to pay for these costs would be derived primarily from incremental property taxes, the Johnson Research Group said other sources of funds could come from state and federal grants, investment income, private financing and other legally permissible funds.

Next steps for the NorthPoint development include the TIF public hearing and the village’s zoning process, which Darrow said is expected to move forward at the end of the fall.

If the TIF district is not approved by the Village Board, “like anything, we’ll go back to the drawing board or, more specifically, the developer would have to weigh the risks” of proceeding with the development without one, Darrow said.