Village Approves Plaza Remodel In TIF District Of Town

TINLEY PARK, IL — The Village Board voted Tuesday evening to approve the highly anticipated Brixmor Property Group project that will remodel and bring new businesses to the Tinley Park Plaza on 159th St. and Harlem Ave. The Brixmor Group's redevelopment project will result in a possible $22 million dollar makeover to the shopping center.

The Board authorized Tax Increment Financing for proposed renovations to parts of the Tinley Park Plaza shopping center on the east side of Harlem and south of 159th Street and a redevelopment agreement that will include the demolition of 87,000 square feet of the existing building and the construction approximately 66,600 square feet for current businesses in the plaza, along with future retailers. The project will also include general improvements to the area, such as facade improvements, landscaping and parking lot improvements.

The village states in the action that Brixmor has met all the requirements to be approved for the project and "share certain municipal revenues." The action also states that without the assistance, the renovation plans would not be made, which would more than likely negatively impact the continued project of the shopping center and village revenues received from the plaza.

The agreement asked for financial assistance from the village in an amount not to exceed the lesser of $9.9 million or 50 percent of whatever the project will cost. The village assistance will be funded by a mix of both TIF incremental revenues from businesses in the shopping center and a 1 percent incremental municipal tax generated by all businesses in the shopping center for 10 years.

According to the action, a maximum of $8.1 million of TIF costs are to be paid from the TIF increment generated. The remainder of $1.8 million is to be paid from incremental sales taxes. The portion of the money to be funded between the TIF eligible costs and sales tax can fluctuate based on expenses for the project as a whole. The action states in addition to the overall $9.9 million maximum, the amount that can be provided from sales taxes cannot be any more than $2.5 million.

To be successful, the achievement of maximum village assistance is heavily based on performance of businesses and successful renovations that bring in new retailers for the shopping center. Bringing in more businesses would generate new sales taxes to the community.

As previously reported by Patch, when the TIF was initially created, officials hoped to fill the vacancies in the plaza. Current tenants in the plaza include Walt's, Dollars Tree and Planet Fitness. A softgoods retailer that plans to occupy 25,000 square feet of the location has not been identified.

Tinley Park Plaza was developed in 1974 and has been owned by Brixmor since 1995.