Plans for improvements to Lassen’s Sports Bar and Grill have been scaled back, but Homewood trustees approved an amended agreement Tuesday, Oct. 25, reaffirming a $203,500 investment in the project.
Renovation plans for the popular eating and drinking establishment are still on the drawing board, but business owner Chris Rieckerman of Tack & Jibe Inc. will have until June 1 to finish the work, according to the amended agreement.
In the meantime, his plans include additional upgrades to the basement area which will include new lighting, new seating, a new bar and new finishes.
Board members agreed in December 2015 to provide financial incentives for the project.
At that time, the board approved an agreement to provide $203,500 in financial assistance from the Southwest Central Building TIF District (tax increment financing) to enable him to purchase the building at 2131 West 183rd Street for $407,000.
Rieckerman had leased the property and operated Lassen’s for the last 13 years.
According to an earlier report, the total cost of the Lassen project was more than $1.1 million. At the Oct. 25 meeting, a staff memo indicated that the initial scope of work planned for Lassen’s had changed and the total cost of the project decreased to $992,000, a $200,000 reduction.
The adjustment to the total cost changes the proportion of the village’s investment from about 18 percent to about 20 percent.
Economic Development Director Tom Vander Woude said the adjusted percentage is slightly higher than the village typically provides, but “it is not without precedent.” He said the village could recoup its investment in about 10 years based on projected increases in annual sales tax revenue resulting from the project.
Rieckerman had originally planned significant improvements to the outdoor beer garden including a covered outdoor dining structure. However he was unable to get the improvements financed because they did not add to the building’s square footage.
Rieckerman will now do a cosmetic upgrade to the beer garden and add new furniture. His long-term plans will still include upgrades for the beer garden, but Rieckerman will finance them himself when funds become available.