The Arthur Andersen consulting firm has told a local developer that the area around Lakehurst shopping mall is eligible for designation as a tax increment financing (TIF) district.
Floundering as a shopping mall, Lakehurst is the centerpiece in developer Martin Tuohy’s plan to secure approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education to redevelop the site as a new urban community with a university at its core.
Known as University Station, the development would aim to be largely self-contained, with housing, shopping, the university, recreation and jobs in a dense, walkable community. TIF district status would help attract the businesses necessary to support the community, Tuohy said.
“There is a significant public component to this project, and it should have a public partnership,” Tuohy said. “A TIF district would help channel demand and investment back into a previously developed area, which would reduce the need to develop virgin land.”
The Board of Higher Education is also considering sites in Mundelein and near the College of Lake County in Grayslake for its University Center. The University Center would offer adult-education classes from several public and private universities. The board is expected to make a decision in April.
TIF districts, which are state-mandated redevelopment tools, essentially guarantee private investors that the public sector will match their investment by requiring that all property tax revenue generated by new development be spent within the district.
