Village officials heard comments from residents and business owners this week about plans to finance public improvements to help spur new development on the east side and create a downtown area.
About 35 residents and business owners turned out at Monday’s Village Board meeting to hear about plans to create a tax increment finance district that would include about 160 acres around Addison Road and Lake Street.
Mayor Lorenz Hartwig estimated that about $15 million will be needed for public improvements in the area.
Hartwig said it could take about 15 years to see real change in the area, and the village needs to “make sure that we do this with patience.”
Seanna Riedemann, who has owned her home on East North Avenue since 1969, wanted assurances that the city wasn’t planning to condemn residential properties outside the TIF area.
Hartwig said the village has no plans to include residential areas in the TIF area, but added it was possible that a developer could offer to buy residents’ property.
Thomas Reed of the Addison Park District board said Community Park is part of the TIF. He said a developer could possibly come in and help develop the park in exchange for some land.
Reed said the vision is to have the park be a destination for people attracted to the town center. Hartwig said it could be like a “mini-Millennium Park.”
