The DeKalb city council will consider a request for a $150,000 sales tax rebate from Lincoln Highway LLC which, according to a Daily Chronicle report, is a trust owned by the Hinsdale-based JSQ Commercial. Lincoln Highway LLC owns the property on the southwest corner of W. Lincoln and Annie Glidden that CVS/Pharmacy received approval for a special use permit for demolition and to build a new store. That location currently is home to Molly’s and The Bottle Store.
Thomas Murphy, on behalf of Lincoln Highway LLC, has indicated that he will cancel the sale without a sales tax rebate of $150,000. That would leave CVS looking for another location (maybe they would offer $1.5 million for the land purchased for the police station site). It could leave Shawn and Kutjime Redzepi, who are in the process of purchasing Molly’s from Lincoln Highway LLC, with plans to relocate to another vacant building on the west side hanging.
Oh my.
According to the minutes of the April 11 city council meeting:
[…] Ald. Teresinski asked if the CVS project is contingent on the current tenants relocating. Mr. Biernacki replied that is not a condition of the permit, but staff is aware the sale of the property is contingent on Molly’s and The Bottle Store relocating.
Mr. Mike Haaning, CVS Representative stated that their contract has no contingencies with the seller. Ald. Teresinski inquired if CVS is requesting any economic assistance from the City. Mr. Haaning replied that CVS will not ask for this from the City. Mr. Biernacki stated that the current land owner advised him that the sale was contingent on finding another location for Molly’s and The Bottle Store as well as economic assistance from the City. Mr. Haaning repeated that CVS has no contingencies. […]
Call the bluff.
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9 Comments


Oh hell no. 150k for depressed property that they can’t even find renters for? If they pull this off I want tiff rebates or assistance for the rental of my (soon to be built) utility shed in my back yard. Let them sell or rot. We learned our lesson from the old Post Office and Walgreens which if memory serves went for $1 with generous concessions to Dekalb Pet which when moved to Sycamore road closed weeks later taking the incentives with them. (It’s been a while so feel free to correct me) I’m so sick of local property owns asking for tax or tiff concessions because a major retailer decides to sniff around. Let them rot and see how they fare when something like the old Dollar Video sells out. The arrogance is palpable.

The model for a revolving fund through a true non-profit for homeowners to fix up private homes already exists:
Those are some seriously deteriorated homes brought back from the brink of destruction. I posted that program before.

Yes, and it doesn’t need to be just for homeowners in TIFs, either.

In case you missed the point, Povlsen (after Rubin’s suggestion ) has moved to have staff design a tif linked program for home repairs.

Herb, yes I did notice. I have been following the housing committee and I’ve been offering suggestions here and through direct public written communication with the Mayor, staff and council.
I was going to try to get on your committee but complaints about me sticking my nose in too many places are valid. And it looks like you folks are doing well without me.
Another complaint about me is that I stoop to using low tactics such as subliminal messaging and vain enough to even attempt it on a college professor.
At Monday night’s meeting speak on the Public Hearing on the 5-year CDBG Plan. 1 – Ask that the $78,830.22 remaining balance in the CDBG Private Property Rehabilitation fund be committed to Mayor’s [suggested by Rubin] directive. 2 – Ask that the remaining balance in the CDBG Acquisition and Demolition Fund of $85,820.98 be used as incentives, under the First-Time Homebuyer program, to induce DeKalb High School or NIU graduates who choose to work in DeKalb, to purchase a foreclosed vacant home.

Ivan
I made a proposal to the Tax Force for a homefix up program with cost sharing from the city that would be used in neighborhoods within the TIF district. I was told that the ways of implementing the proposal are being worked out by city staff.Much of course needs to be worked out.
However, if you think impact fees have an impact one way or another on the moribund economy for new housing, I’d like to see evidence. New construction is totally stagnant in places with and without impact fees and is unlikely to recover until the glut of REOs have been removed from the market.

You know if the city council is looking to hand out tax incentives, they might as well consider all the possibilities out there to get the local economy going. The city is going to have to consider ALL impact fees for new home construction to help generate some desperately needed EAV for this community.
The local construction industry needs a jump start which if it could get going again would have a definite positive affect on many of the local businesses who are currently experiencing a huge void of sales due to the down turn in the economy and housing industry. TIF could and should be explored to offer low interest loans to local homeowners who wish to continue their investing in DeKalb and allow them to fix and add on to their current homes. Local dollars for local property owners hiring local contractors who would buy from local merchants.
This would really give some maximum power to each TIF dollar spent improving the neighborhoods of DeKalb while helping business owners grow stronger. Wake up Mayor Povlsen and help jump start what could eventually be the type of legacy anyone would be proud of.

Wish you had covered yesterday’s EDC meeting.
First split vote since I’ve been chair. 3 in favor of the incentive 2 opposed.
I was one of the opposed. For multiple reasons.
Herb
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When did we start to succumb to venture capitalists who feel they can leverage locations against the local tax base? Let the LLC purchase the property and see how fast they negotiate the sale once they find the tide has shifted against them. If we cave you might as well double the sticker price of every parcel along 38. That should be music to Mr. Bakers ears.