Bonnell Industries to build new manufacturing facility in industrial park

DIXON – Bonnell Industries is planning to build a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Lee County industrial park near Interstate 88.

The Dixon City Council plans to vote on an agreement Tuesday that would reimburse Bonnell with up to $4 million in redevelopment costs through future property tax revenue generated in the city’s Industrial Park tax-increment financing district.

The project is a $10.7 million investment, with an $8 million manufacturing building, parking and utility extensions as well as outfitting the site with $2.7 million in specialized manufacturing equipment, according to the development agreement.

The TIF reimbursement would include around $650,000 in predevelopment costs such as property acquisition costs, architectural and engineering services, legal services, inspections, surveys, market studies, and environmental studies.

Bonnell would also annex its properties at 1385 Franklin Grove Road and 501 Anchor Road into the city limits and receive a 10 year property tax abatement as long as those properties weren’t sold.

The new facility would be built on about nine acres off of East Progress Drive next to Nicor in the Lee County Business Park.

The project is expected to create 16 new full-time jobs.

Bonnell Industries is a family owned company spanning three generations and opened in 1960. It manufactures a variety of snow and ice equipment, plows, spreaders, bodies, road maintenance equipment and leaf vacuums.

The industrial park TIF covers 236 acres south of I-88, between South Galena Avenue and U.S. Route 52.