Flossmoor trustees voted on Sept. 3 to endorse a Cook County Class 8 property tax incentive for BRC Captial LLC. The company owns 1615 Vollmer Road, home of the new Embassy Cigar Lounge, which opened in May.
The Class 8 designation is used to help redevelop vacant commercial or industrial properties and applies to Bloom, Bremen, Rich, Thornton and Calumet townships. Qualified properties are assessed at 10% of market value for 10 years, 15% for the 11th year and 20% for the 12th year. The designation can be renewed once for an additional 10 years.
(Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
Embassy business partners Louis Morgan and Corey Singleton appeared before the board on Aug. 19 to present their application for the designation.
“This will put us in a position to remain profitable and to continue to provide this business and its services to the community,” Singleton said.
Board members were unanimous not only in their votes but in their praise for the Embassy partners work on the cigar lounge.
Mayor Michelle Nelson noted the building had been vacant for years with unpaid taxes.
“The work that you’ve done to renovate it and bring it back on the tax roll is just incredible,” she said. “It’s a very well run establishment. It’s widely embraced by folks from throughout the Southland and actually Chicagoland as well.”
She said village officials are aware the Embassy partners have plans to initiate more projects in Flossmoor.
“We know you would like to do additional projects in other areas,” she said. “We would like to continue that relationship with you given the track record you have established.”
The partners’ work so far was also a factor for the rest of the board.
Trustee George Lofton admitted he’s not a cigar smoker, but he has friends who are, and he has visited the lounge. He said the project set the bar high for future businesses in the community.
“I want to applaud the young men here who have opened up what is considered to be a first class business in our town,” he said. “As far as economic development is concerned, I think this will spur that, as guests who have come to the establishment from our community and the City of Chicago, they see this and they know what Flossmoor expects.”
In addition to the board’s approval for the Class 8 designation, BRC Capital entered into a “make whole” agreement with the village, promising to reimburse the village for any property tax loss the village experiences as a result of the Class 8 benefits.
