Rolling Meadows Lines up Tax District Ahead of Bears Stadium

Rolling Meadows wants cash in on the Chicago Bears potential Arlington Heights stadium development.

Officials in the Chicago suburb are looking to spark redevelopment along the Algonquin Road corridor, with one of two new tax increment financing districts banking on the Chicago Bears’ potential new home just a few exits away in Arlington Heights, the Daily Herald reported.

They are targeting a 26-acre area northeast of the Interstate 90/Route 53 interchange, where a shuttered 170-room Holiday Inn and attached Holidome — known for hosting The Who in the 1960s — has fallen into disrepair. Nearby, the aging Crossroads of Commerce office towers have seen rising vacancy and intermittent for-sale listings.

City Manager Rob Sabo called the area a highly visible “gateway” to the city, a priority for revitalization and highly desirable, “…especially knowing what might be coming in the future down the road,” he said.

The Rolling Meadows’ city council authorized Sabo to move forward with an eligibility study, which would formally define TIF boundaries and assess the site for blight. A vote to approve the $75,000 study contract is expected next month.

The TIF would freeze taxable values and capture any incremental tax revenue for use on public improvements. That money could also go to private developers to offset the cost of demolition, site work or adaptive reuse projects.

Sam Patel, who owns the long-vacant Holidome property as well as adjacent hotels, has floated proposals in the past ranging from senior housing to a new residential tower with street-level retail. City officials said they’re open to using TIF proceeds as part of a public-private partnership.

“This is a property that’s in a pretty bad state of repair and is in immediate need for demolition,” Sabo said. The city’s been working with the owner “on effectuating that outcome,” he said.

The district could also include U-Haul’s storage site and parking areas along the tollway, as well as a strip mall and driveways near a planned QuikTrip fueling station west of Route 53. Alderman Mike Koehler proposed expanding the TIF boundaries to cover those parcels.

The redevelopment push comes as the Bears’ stadium ambitions in Arlington Heights remain uncertain.

Illinois lawmakers ended their spring session without approving key property tax legislation that would have supported the team’s move to the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse. Officials said talks were close, but they ultimately ran out of time to strike a deal, leaving the franchise’s suburban stadium plan in limbo for now.

A second TIF is proposed farther east along Algonquin, encompassing aging retail centers, an empty city-owned parcel on Meadowbrook Court, and a stalled expansion site for Plum Creek Supportive Living.

Rolling Meadows has previously used TIF to back projects like the Riverwalk Condominiums and Arthur J. Gallagher’s headquarters. Two existing TIFs are scheduled to expire in 2025 and 2030.

— Judah Duke