Geneva OKs 2 TIF projects worth nearly $200k

GENEVA – Aldermen approved two tax increment finance redevelopment agreements Monday – one for $93,520 and one for $102,770 for a combined total of $196,290 – at a special City Council meeting.

A tax increment finance district is a development tool where tax dollars are diverted for public improvements such as roads and sewers, as well as other purposes as the law allows. The funds for the two TIFs are to come only from the TIF itself, according to both agreements.

One agreement, for $93,520, is with Geneva Pharmacy for the adaptive use of 501 E. State St. at the northeast corner of East State and Woodward Avenue. The TIF funds are for reimbursement of a portion of the improvements, including demolition, site and utility upgrades, foundation repairs, sidewalk extension, facade and landscape to meet the city’s design standards, officials said.

The money is to come from the East State Street TIF, adopted in 2000, to promote private investment in rehabilitation, officials said.

Economic Development Director Cathleen Tymoszenko said that TIF is set to expire in 2023.

Geneva Pharmacy is committing nearly $517,000 for the building improvements, according to the agreement.

The parcel is .19 of an acre with a 1,336 square foot commercial building on it, which was originally built as a residence in 1857, according to the agreement.

Geneva Pharmacy will demolish two additions so the pharmacy itself will be 1,000 square feet, according to the agreement.

At the June 7 Committee of the Whole meeting, Tymoszenko said public-private partnerships like these are necessary to make these properties functional for the future.

“When we look at public- private partnerships, we need to look at the property,” Tymoszenko said.

“And the property we have in Geneva is limited,” Economic Development Director Cathleen Tymoszenko said. “And property we have on the east side, and within our TIF districts, is a built environment we need to work with in order to make these properties functional for the future and make sure that they are redeveloped for the type of businesses that are envisioned in the plans.”

The second TIF approved was for the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group, 230 E. State St., a 1.2 acre property with a 4,009-square foot office building.

Funds will come from the Geneva Fox River TIF created in 2016, according to the agreement.

The project consists of interior and exterior improvements to update the first floor office and convert the second floor residential apartment to a two-story, modern-designed office building to be fully occupied by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group, according to the agreement.

Interior and exterior improvements include utility, energy efficiency, fire safety, site, landscaping, parking and signage upgrades, the agreement states.

If Coldwell Banker sells or conveys the property to a third party with in 10 years, the agreement calls for the city to be reimbursed, reduced by 10% for each year that the real estate firm owns the property.

First Ward Alderman Tara Burghart cast the lone no votes on both TIF projects.