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New Fulton Market property tax delayed amid backlash from neighbors
The community group responsible will reshape its “advisory committee,” which now includes multiple developers and brokers
A proposal to layer an extra tax on Fulton Market property owners to pay for streetscape and safety upgrades suffered a setback this week.
Leaders of the West Loop Community Organization said they will delay by one year their application to create a Special Service Area around the booming commercial district, according to Block Club Chicago.
The organization will spend the interim reorganizing its advisory committee, which neighbors had criticized for not representing all of the community. The committee’s 19 members include real estate professionals from development and brokerage groups like Shapack Partners, Related Midwest, Sterling Bay, Tucker Development and SVN International.
Earlier this year, the group pitched a district bounded by Halsted Street, Hubbard Street, Ogden Avenue and Washington Boulevard. They came back with a revised plan to move the area’s southern boundary north to Randolph Street in an effort to sidestep residential properties.
Revenue from an extra property tax in that area could be used to pay for surveillance cameras, more streetlights and extra snow removal services, proponents said.
The neighborhood group needs to show it has support from at least 20 percent of affected property owners in order for the city to create a Special Service Area. If approved, the district would not go into full effect until the Kinzie tax increment financing district expires in 2022. [Block Club] — Alex Nitkin