Geneva aldermen approve TIF amendment for east side eatery

GENEVA – Geneva aldermen on Monday unanimously approved a $3,162 amendment to a tax increment finance redevelopment agreement with Riganato Old World Grille, 700-720 E. State St.

Last fall, the City Council approved $23,300 in TIF funds to reimburse owner Nick Nicolaou for half the cost to demolish a one-story retail store formerly occupied by Dad & Me Toys and parking lot restoration.

That work is complete except for landscape improvements, which were not included in the original TIF request, officials said.

A tax increment finance district is a development tool in which tax dollars are diverted for public improvements such as roads, sewers, demolition, professional services and financing costs.

In keeping with the terms of the redevelopment agreement, the amendment would increase the grant award by $3,162, or half of the landscaping cost, officials said.

Last fall, Economic Development Director Cathleen Tymoszenko said about $700,000 worth of renovation, plus acquisition costs, were put into the property.

“The original project encouraged rehab of the building and adaptive reuse,” Tymoszenko said in the fall. “The original project helped to assemble the land into one unified lot, which is a big goal of the redevelopment project.”

The work included retrofitting the structure, reducing the number of access driveways and creating a new parking lot from a mud lot, Tymoszenko said.