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Prime riverfront building in downtown Yorkville gearing up for redevelopment plans · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Prime riverfront building in downtown Yorkville gearing up for redevelopment plans.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Joey Weslow, This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. The riverfront
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  Speaker 1: in downtown Yorkville is going through some big changes. With
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  Speaker 1: a four point three million dollars downtown revitalization project on
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  Speaker 1: the horizon, Redevelopment in prime buildings is starting to take shape.
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  Speaker 1: City officials shed some light on a potential tax increment
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  Speaker 1: financing assistance plan to spur redevelopment of the Greater Building,
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  Speaker 1: located adjacent to South Bank Original Barbecue. The building is
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  Speaker 1: currently under contract with the Williams Group, who have expressed
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  Speaker 1: desire to redevelop the site. The site previously held a
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  Speaker 1: glass and auto manufacture. The City Council passed a resolution
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  Speaker 1: during its May twelfth meeting agreeing if any future tiff
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  Speaker 1: deal is approved, the company would receive reimbursements from this
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  Speaker 1: point in time. Any final future tiff decision must be
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  Speaker 1: approved by the city council. City Administrator bart Olsen said
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  Speaker 1: the Williams Group would like to redevelop the Greater Building
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  Speaker 1: similar to how they've redeveloped other properties in downtown Yorkville
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  Speaker 1: over the past few years. Olsen said this resolution does
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  Speaker 1: not commit the city to provide tiff incentives or any
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  Speaker 1: other incentives to the project, but keeps the door open.
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  Speaker 1: This resolution protects their ability to get tiff incentives on
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  Speaker 1: project expenses that they will incur soon at a later
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  Speaker 1: date if city Council approves the future tiff incentive, Olsen
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  Speaker 1: said during the meeting. This means any project expenses, including engineering, design,
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  Speaker 1: or legal costs incurred by the developer would be reimbursed
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  Speaker 1: by a likely tiff agreement. T IF districts are designed
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  Speaker 1: to provide financial incentives to spur development of blighted or
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  Speaker 1: underdeveloped properties by diverting increases sales or property taxes generated
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  Speaker 1: by the property back into site improvements. A TIF can
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  Speaker 1: last up to twenty three years. Opponents of TIFFs they
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  Speaker 1: result in higher taxes on other property owners to make
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  Speaker 1: up for the lost generated tax revenue the property would
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  Speaker 1: have normally sent to public schools, libraries, and city funded departments.
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  Speaker 1: Developers will often refuse to move forward on redeveloping a
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  Speaker 1: property unless a city guarantees financial incentives. Developers often argue
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  Speaker 1: redeveloping blighted sites can be too expensive to improve with
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  Speaker 1: private dollars alone. Mayor John Purcell said some positive can
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  Speaker 1: come from this because the city has utilized tiff districts
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  Speaker 1: to successfully redevelop some properties in town that required a
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  Speaker 1: sizeable amount of investment. I know we've done some other
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  Speaker 1: tiff agreements and some of those have worked out real well,
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  Speaker 1: Purcell said. Projects they've done have worked out fantastic. The
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  Speaker 1: Williams Group has not yet made pub lick their plans
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  Speaker 1: for the site. Olsen said any future tiff agreement would
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  Speaker 1: need to have the dollar amount and type of assistance
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  Speaker 1: negotiated by the city. Any final redevelopment plans on the
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  Speaker 1: property must also be approved by the city council, piece
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  Speaker 1: of a larger project. The city has already taken strides
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  Speaker 1: toward its four point three million dollars Downtown Hydraulic District
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  Speaker 1: renovation project. Last year, the city was awarded a three
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  Speaker 1: million dollars Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grant to revitalize the area,
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  Speaker 1: including new pedestrian and bike paths, improved safety features, and
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  Speaker 1: esthetic improvements like outdoor lighting and decorative pavers and entryways.
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  Speaker 1: The improvements are part of the Streetscape project, which city
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  Speaker 1: planners hope will someday spur mixed use residential and commercial
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  Speaker 1: developments near the Fox River. A music stage and events plaza,
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  Speaker 1: and renovated businesses and walkways are all part of the
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  Speaker 1: vision for a rejuvenated downtown district. With the three million
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  Speaker 1: dollars grant, the city is investing one million, three hundred,
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  Speaker 1: ten thousand, three hundred dollars in matching funds for the
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  Speaker 1: multi year project. According to city documents, engineers are creating
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  Speaker 1: a one way street with a multi use pedestrian and
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  Speaker 1: bicycle path alonges Hydraulic Avenue. A sidewalk is being extended
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  Speaker 1: along Mill Street and Houstas Street out to East Van
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  Speaker 1: Emmon Street. A hardscape fence barrier with landscaping elements is
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  Speaker 1: likely being placed near the railroad tracks Before construction begins.
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  Speaker 1: The area is undergoing an environmental hazard cleanup to remediate
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  Speaker 1: soil pollution from decades of agricultural and industrial usage of
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  Speaker 1: the f s property in the downtown district. A large
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  Speaker 1: portion of the downtown area currently features a public parking lot,
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  Speaker 1: which was first paved in two thousand as part of
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  Speaker 1: the rejuvenation project, the parking lot would be scaled down,
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  Speaker 1: with expanded parking spaces placed in adjacent areas, including along
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  Speaker 1: the river. City staff currently are estimating the first letting
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  Speaker 1: for the multi year project to be in November twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty eight.