Burr Ridge Store Seeks $400K From Village

BURR RIDGE, IL – A Burr Ridge grocery store is requesting $400,000 from a special tax district to help pay for a renovation.

Brookhaven Marketplace, 100 Burr Ridge Parkway, is the largest tenant in the County Line Square shopping center. It has been there for two decades and owned in part by John Manos.

The store is planning a $1.8 million project, including a roof replacement, new refrigeration units, extensive floor replacement and upgrades, according to village records.

"The planned renovations represent a significant reinvestment in the property, enhancing its value and attracting more customers to the area," the store's lawyer, Jim Olguin, said in a letter to the village last week.

The $400,000 would come from a 4-year-old 1 percent sales tax in the business district, which consists of Village Center, County Line Square and the Marriott.

The tax money was intended to benefit the district itself with such things as buildings, roads, utilities, demolition of buildings and renovations of existing ones.

Because Brookhaven is a grocery, the business district tax doesn't apply to most of the store's items. Through a state sales tax, though, the village receives 1 percent of the sale of almost all of Brookhaven's goods. But the state tax ends Jan. 1.

In his letter, Olguin said the store would support a village decision to enact a 1 percent grocery tax to replace the lost income. This is something the village can do under state law.

The Garber family owns County Line Square and agrees to the project, according to a Burr Ridge memo. The village said it has no indication the landlord is helping pay for the project.

Brookhaven is seeking a long-term lease extension, the memo said.

On Wednesday, the Burr Ridge Economic Development Committee plans to consider Brookhaven Marketplace's request. The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at Village Hall.