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Princeton backs enterprise zone expansion tied to Marquis-owned land · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Princeton back's enterprise zone expansion tied to Marquis's owned land
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  Written by Bill Frescoes. This article is being read by
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  an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. The Princeton
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  City Council backed an expansion of the Bureau Putnam County
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  Area Enterprise Zone to include hundreds of acres of Marquee
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  owned land near Hennepin, although no specific development project has
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  been proposed yet. According to city documents, the expansion would
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  add about seven hundred and sixty four acres of Marquee
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  owned property near Hennepin to the enterprise zone. The expansion
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  is part of a larger request that must be approved
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  by all eight local governments in the zone before it
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  can be submitted to the state. James Durden of the
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  North Central Illinois Council of Governments spoke to the council
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  on Monday, explaining the approval process behind the expansion, while
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  answering question NCICG is involved because it serves as the
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  administrator of the zone. Dirden told council members that Marquee
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  approached the Enterprise Zone Board about including the land as
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  it explores creating an industrial park that could provide more
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  than two thousand, five hundred acres of development property. After
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  the presentation, the proposal was approved five zero by the
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  board before being sent to the other boards and councils.
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  Princeton was one of the first few cities to vote
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  on it, but Dirden noted Putnam County, Bureau, County, and
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  lad have tabled their decisions on the proposal. When asked
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  by the council why the other boards had tabled, Durden
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  gave a lengthy answer, but essentially said officials wanted more
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  information before making any decision. He also pointed to concerns
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  raised during the public comment period from residents during those
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  meetings that included the worry of tax incentives for Marquee
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  and rumors of a future data center project. All these
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  are just rumors at this point, Durton said, we are
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  submitting an application and that means there is no current
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  project in mind. With that said, the vote on Monday
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  was about approving the enterprise Zone expansion rather than any
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  single proposal that could come later within it. That later
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  proposal would most likely go through Putnam County officials. We
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  approve it as a whole, but Putnam County has the
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  final say on individual projects because it's on their turf,
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  Mabury said, referring to how any future development would still
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  have to go through local zoning approval. Princeton Mayor Ray
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  Maybury said, while details remain up in the air on
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  what future development could be there, he's supports moving the
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  process forward because he trusts Marquise's intentions based off their reputation.
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  Their track record is tremendous. What they've done taking blighted
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  property and creating jobs is something that we recognize and value,
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  Mabury said. When asked directly after the meeting if Princeton
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  would support any AI data center projects in the future,
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  Mayby said he most likely would not due to the
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  unknown cost to residents and the environment. Looking ahead, the
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  proposal must still receive approval from all of the other
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  boards and councils before it can be sent to a
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  state board for final approval. In a statement, Marquee held
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  firm that there are no definite plans in place in
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  expanding the zone will add significant value to the local economy,
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  As local officials have indicated, no specific development proposal has
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  been formally presented as part of this enterprise zone expansion request.
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  The proposed Bureau Putnam Area Enterprise Zone expansion is a
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  proactive economic development tool designed to ensure our region remains
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  competitive for future investment opportunities. Since the Bureau Putnam Area
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  Enterprise Zone was established in twenty eight seventeen, it has
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  supported approximately fifty projects totaling more than seven hundred fifty
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  million dollars in investment and has contributed to the creation
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  of over one thousand permanent jobs throughout the region.