Two developers are looking into public financing to spur development on three vacant properties in the Village of Orland Park.
JD Real Estate, Orland Park Lake Ventures and village officials are studying the potential to create tax-increment financing districts for sites the developers control, the Chicago Tribune reported. A consultant, SB Friedman Development Advisors, is assessing whether the tracts meet state eligibility criteria.
The three properties are the former Andrew Corporation site at 10500 West 153rd Street, the closed Petey’s II restaurant at 15900 LaGrange Road and the former Terry’s Lincoln-Mercury dealership at 9401 West 143rd Street.
JD Real Estate controls the Petey’s and dealership sites and has invested $100,000 into escrow accounts to fund feasibility studies. Orland Park Lake Ventures, which controls the Andrew Corporation property, has contributed $85,000 toward similar studies. The people behind those companies weren’t identified.
The Andrew Corporation property has a complicated history. The 74-acre site once held 600,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space before the buildings were demolished. In 2008, environmental contamination halted a planned housing development by Kimball Hill Homes.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency cleared the land for commercial use in 2019, but additional cleanup would be required for residential development.
Village mayor Keith Pekau said Orland Park Lake Ventures is exploring commercial and residential options for the property, depending on whether it can be cleaned up enough. Either way, public financing would be required for it to pencil out.
Establishing TIF districts allows municipalities to freeze property taxes for local government bodies and use any additional revenue generated by higher property values to fund infrastructure improvements or provide incentives for developers.
While the proposed TIF districts have the potential to stimulate economic development, some local officials have raised opposition.
The potential TIFs would redirect millions in property taxes away from schools and public services, said High School District 230 board member Mohammed Jaber. He described the districts as “a fund of uncertainty.”
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Discussions are still in their early phases, and formal proposals have not yet been made Pekau said. The properties currently generate minimal tax revenue, and redevelopment could benefit the community in the long run, he said.
To meet the criteria for TIF designation, the sites must be classified as “blighted” due to factors such as lack of development and declining property values.
— Andrew Terrell