The prospect of redevelopment along a section of Howard Street is one vote away from final approval after city officials agreed Thursday to recommend that Evanston City Council create a special development district in the area.
he Tax Increment Financing Joint Review Board unanimously approved the idea of creating a new TIF district, which is a locally-based tool to encourage revitalization in blighted or aged sections of a city. The proposed Howard TIF district would include the storefront section of Howard between the El tracks and Ridge Avenue – an area that Ald. Gene Feldman (9th) said has eluded development efforts.
“We’ve been willing to and have supported a multitude of efforts to improve the area,” Feldman said. “I don’t think we’ve been terribly successful with Howard Street.”
The next step in the process will be a public hearing at the City Council meeting Dec. 15. At that meeting the council could set a date for the final vote on the district in mid-January.
Although the process is not over, Feldman said Thursday’s meeting was “a significant moment in Evanston’s history,” and the district “will make some significant differences for the future.”
Evanston has four TIF districts, including one that aided the development of Century Theatres and the rest of the Church Street Plaza. When a TIF district is established, tax revenue generated within the district is capped for 23 years. Any new revenue above the cap is redirected to development within the district.
The idea is that with the perks, developers are more likely to invest in run-down areas.
“We feel that with an incentive like the TIF, it could make the critical difference for businesses to get their toes in the water,” said Dennis Marino, assistant director of Evanston’s Planning Division.
Thursday’s meeting assembled representatives of the different taxing bodies that could be affected by a TIF district, including the school districts and Evanston Township. Though school districts are typically critical of TIF districts because of the loss in tax revenue, all members of the board were optimistic about improvements on Howard.
“I think this is long overdue,” said Patricia Vance, supervisor of the township, which oversees a number of social services in the city.
Robert Rychlicki of Kane, McKenna and Associates Inc. – the consulting firm that told the city the proposed TIF district was possible – said a 1999 revision in the law might make the districts more attractive to schools.
The law says that if a TIF district attracts new housing developments – and also more students – school districts can request a percentage of the tax revenue generated by these new homes. Rychlicki said 40 percent of the additional revenue from the homes could be given to both Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and District 202, depending on how many new students move to the area.
Board members also discussed using TIF funds for job-training programs. Ald. Ann Rainey (8th), whose ward encompasses the proposed district, said she would support these programs.
“I would strongly suggest that as developers come on board we do some kind of a (vocational) program,” she said.
