A public hearing on the establishment of a new tax increment financing (TIF) district was held before the Sept. 22 village board meeting in Homewood.
The new TIF would include the former site of Bogart’s Charhouse at 18225 Dixie Highway and the surrounding area, including properties on Miller Court. The aim is to make the site of the former restauranteasier to market and redevelop.
TIF districts are meant to encourage redevelopment of blighted areas that are unattractive to potential new owners. A portion of property taxes are held in the TIF fund by the village and reinvested into the area.
Homewood has been working on the project for years.
Bogart’s closed in 2012. The village began working toward acquiring and condemning the property in 2016, but was bogged down in tax and ownership issues. The process wasn’t completed until April 2018.
The village then contracted Kane, McKenna and Associates. The financial firm’s assessment was that the property would not be financially feasible for a new owner without assistance. The TIF district was a solution.
A review board was established by Homewood last year to move forward. The public hearing was originally scheduled for July 2019. It was delayed because the village was waiting on the county assessor to issue a property tax exemption reflecting the first year of Homewood owning the property.
The tax exemption allows Homewood to maximize the tax increment to the point needed to make the property worth developing.
The proposed budget for the TIF is $3,050,000, which covers its 23-year life. It would pay for land acquisition, site preparation, needed improvements to roads, sewers and other public areas, among other expenditures necessary to advance.
Homewood has 14 to 90 days to vote on an ordinance to confirm the TIF district’s establishment.