Aurora plans tax increment financing district to fund 246-unit apartment project

TIF district may generate more than $34M over 23 years

Rendering of the planned development in Aurora between 80 and 220 N Broadway (DAC Developments, iStock)
Rendering of the planned development in Aurora between 80 and 220 N Broadway (DAC Developments, iStock)

A new tax district has been established in Aurora to help fund a new residential project on the western side of the Chicago suburb.

Aurora aldermen approved steps to create a new tax increment financing district to help fund a new 246-unit apartment complex on North Broadway, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Under the TIF district, which officials say could be created in as little as 14 days, the property tax amount that’s collected will be frozen at the time it’s created. As property values increase with development, additional tax dollars will be set aside to help fund public improvements within the district itself.

The new district, the East River Bend TIF District, will contribute to the $6.7 million in incentives the city promised to DAC Developments, the group developing the new apartment building.

The 246-unit apartment complex will rise between the east bank of Fox River and Broadway, between the Aurora Township building and a bagel shop.

To create the East River Bend TIF District, the property will have to be removed from two other TIF districts it’s in, a move the city council’s Finance Committee has recommended.

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The complex is estimated to cost about $70 million. DAC has committed about $11 million of its own money for the project and will need to supplement the remaining $50 million with a loan. The city has agreed to give DAC a forgivable $963,000 loan up front and another $2 million later this year.

Officials estimate the East River Bend TIF District could generate more than $34 million in the 23 years it’s set to exist.

DAC’s new apartment complex, which will span five floors, will have primarily studio and one-bedroom apartments and will also have about 40 two- and three-bedroom units. Private balconies will be included for about 45 percent of the units. Parking for 310 vehicles is also included in the plans.

The developers also plan to build some sort of open space along the riverfront that will include a park that the Fox Valley Park District bike path can transit.

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[CT] — Victoria Pruitt