Community Development Commission

Gwendolyn Hatten Butler, chair, called the meeting to order at 1pm. Due to COVID-19 an in person meeting was determined to not be practical or prudent so the meeting is being held virtually.

The minutes from the Sept 13th meeting were approved after a roll call vote and the motion passed.

We’re staring the meeting off with Old Business. The first item of old business requires us to recess from a regular CDC meeting in order to hold a required public hearing on the amendment of an existing TIF plan.

Ryan Slattery a project manager from the Department of Planning & Development (DPD) presents on the proposed Kinzie Industrial Conservation Area TIF redevelopment project area Amendment No. 2 in ward 27.

You can see the Kinzie Industrial Conservation Area TIF district below and the updated Kinzie land use map to the right. The DPD wants to extend the TIF for 12 years to allow the area to continue redevelopment work for infrastructure, economic development & residential use https://t.co/I5Y1czdai7

The goals of the proposed TIF are to encourage affordable housing & mixed income developments, promote the area as an important economic engine and job center, support transportation improvements and fund recreational amenities. You can see the specific projects below: https://t.co/PMxlfEWe1j

There are 3 written statements for the Kinzie area TIF. Patty Patton said Kinzie St is a horrible place to drive or walk, from Paulina to Hart St & is in desperate need of new sewers & repaving, also cleaning up the weeds and trash would absolutely help to achieve the TIF plan.

The Executive Committee & Board of Directors of the West Loop Community organization think the TIF is a tremendous net positive for the west loop overall - improving aging infrastructure and ensuring 30% or more affordable housing are worthy goals to ensure a 24 hour community

At the end of the written statements, Hatten Butler, asks for comments or questions from the commissioners

Chris Wheat asks DPD for more details regarding affordable housing plans. Slattery says they’re looking to have 30% or greater affordable housing and the goal is to create a mixed income area in Fulton Market but they need to extend the TIF to make that happen.

Butler calls on members from the public for public comment, each person is allowed 3 minutes.

Roger Romanelli from Fulton Market Association asks the CDC to table the issue & hold 3 more evening public hearing meetings. He also called on the city, “asking right now for the mayor and the aldermen to agree to install 100 Chicago police security cameras in the Kinzie TIF.”

Romanelli also said that besides the cameras, 60% of TIF funds going forward must be used to strategically solve our city’s root causes of crime. He called for a written agreement for the Western Green line station to be built and the Lake bus reinstated

Stephen Hamilton, resident of the TIF area since 1989, says we’re in a time of high taxes & limited use. His taxes have increased 473% since 2002 but few ppl now want to pay the rent demanded by them. He has not seen the TIF improvements, there are areas with no sidewalks

Laura Girardi, a homeowner in the the area for 62 years asks about the relocation costs referred to in the presentation

Butler asks for comment from Alderman Burnett. Burnett says that the TIF needs to be extended without a doubt, supports it 100%. He says it’s needed to continue building infrastructure & the TIF is a moneymaker for the city. He hears comments about cameras and is working on it.

The motion passes with a roll call vote for the Kinzie Industrial Conservation Area TIF amendment and extension.

We’re on to item 2 of 3 in Old Business on the agenda.

Beth McGuire from DPD presents on the Proposed Pulaski Corridor TIF Redevelopment Project Area Amendment No. 3 (wards 31, 26). After the presentation the meeting will go into recess for a public hearing

DPD proposes to extend the TIF district for 12 years so it will continue to be a financial resource for redevelopment of the area. They want to expand the boundary to include an Invest South/West site. They also want to revise the budget & update the land use map (seen below) https://t.co/YmiyNrAigV

Previously the Pulaski TIF funded Encuentro Sq. Phase 1, Ames Elementary, street improvements and senior housing. Goals of the extension include attracting new industrial and business development, improved parks and infrastructure (inc 606), new affordable housing & job opps

The expansion area includes the Pioneer Bank, the area is eligible under the TIF because it qualifies as both an improved (conservation or blighted area) & as a vacant area. You can see the expansion details on the right and a breakdown of the $161 million budget on the left https://t.co/xyTVa4Fz3o

Following the presentation Commissioner Gomez asks about the parking for the area, McGuire says they didn’t conduct a study about the parking in the area.

There are no written or verbal comments from the public. The public hearing is closed and the CDC meeting resumes with a roll call vote. The motion passes to extend the Pulaski TIF.

On to the last item in Old Business - the proposed Red Line Extension (RLE) TIF Redevelopment Project Area (TFIA Wards: 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 20, 21, 25, 34, 42); (RPA Wards: 3, 4, 11, 25, 42)

The DPD recommends approval of the redevelopment plan, and Tim Jeffries from the DPD introduces the project. Jeffries says the RLE is a 5.6 mile, 4 station extension, costing $3.6 billion and is the single biggest project of the CTA

Leah Mooney, Director of Strategic Planning & Policy and Fran Rood, TIF consultant from SB Friedman give a more detailed presentation on the RLE redevelopment plan

Mooney says the RLE was first promised by Mayor Daley in 1969 but way more progress has been made recently. At its core the RLE is transit equity for the south side following the red-purple modernization project on the north side. See below for a RLE timeline and map https://t.co/xPAMZ7Z7Mg

Mooney explains how the RLE brings transformational benefits to far south side residents and the whole city, including economic development stimulated in the area with a 46% increase in accesible jobs, multimodal connectivity, improved sustainability and increased equity. https://t.co/TScsMfnkZS

To ensure funding for the RLE, CTA needs to bring a local match to secure more than $2 billion in federal New Starts funding. The RLE transit TIF would provide an estimated $950 million of this local match,~ 26% of the total budget. See a budget graphic & timeline below https://t.co/p0bBpwYpNN

Fran Rood explains what a transit TIF is & what makes it unique - it was authorized by the state legislature in 2016 & only funds specific transit improvement projects. A transit TIF can extend up to a half mile from transit facilities & doesn’t require an area to be “blighted”

Transit TIFs have a 35 year term (vs 23) which matches financing sources used for large scale, long term projects. They share increment w other taxing districts - CPS receives full proportional share, 20% of remaining increment is shared, which can be seen in the graph below https://t.co/IO1JrMgTBJ

Rood noted transit TIFs do keep existing TIF districts in tact, so that existing economic development can continue which is important for this RLE project. Also both transit and regular TIFs undergo a rigorous public approval process, &the RLE is in the midst of that now

The TFIA, seen below on the right, extends from Madison on the north end to 134th St on the south end. The TFIA defines the max boundary for the TIF, incremental revenue can be spent on RLE within the TFIA. The TIF district or included specific parcels that generate revenue https://t.co/t9e62SwrDC

The proposed boundary for the RLE TIF is seen below.The TIF spans from Madison in the north to Pershing on the south. In gray are the parcels in the TIF & anything in white is existing TIFs or parks. The boundary was created to generate the $950 mill needed to support the RLE https://t.co/loydtUlYI7

The public approval process for the transit TIF is below. Mooney ends by saying an equity TIF is not a legal term, but it describes the RLE TIF. They’re taking increment happening in the north & allowing it to stimulate the far south, which is primarily minority & low income https://t.co/K1oEZ9HwKg

Hatten Butler thanks Mooney and Rood for the presentation. She reads three written comments from the public, one from Debra Turner from the Red Line Extension Coalition Board. Turner witnessed the disinvestment in Roseland and thinks the RLE is a needed investment

John Paul Jones from the Sustainable Englewood Initiative also submitted a written comment, he is pleased that the city is moving forward and notes that we need all local governments to fund this historic project. Michael LeFar calls the RLE “a dream deferred”

Hatten Butler, asks if there are any questions from the commission. Curtis asks a question regarding the use of eminent domain, and if it’s necessary what’s the process.

Mooney says that there are 216 parcels to acquire, 103 privately owned, 64 are occupied. They’ll follow the uniform relocation act if needed but have talked to community members since 2016 and want to avoid eminent domain completely

Wheat asks DPD to provide color on the decision for the TIF being concentrated on the northern side. Jeffies said they needed $950 million to make the project go, so they used as few parcels in the TIF necessary needed to make the money, analysis started north and moved south

Wheat asked for info on convos with USDOT. Mooney said it’s likely the RLE will be successful with federal fiscal year 2024 budget, the next process is to achieve entry into engineering. Having the local match identified now, will make the prospect higher with the federal app

McKibben says that the proposed RLE transit TIF is concentrated in the Chinatown and South Loop area and wants to know how future community development projects will work with the proposed TIF avoiding expiring or existing TIFs in the area

Jeffries from DPD says that moving forward the parcels in the RLE TIF would not be an option for future TIFs because the revenue generated would go to the RLE, but there are other options like the Neighborhood Opportunity fund & Chgo Development grants

With no further questions, Hatten Butler begins the public comment period

Lou Turner, professor from the U of IL, Urbana is in support of the RLE TIF. He says the amount of money generated by the TIF between Madison & Pershing ($950 million) should be considered in relation to the amount of consumer leakage from the area annually - $870 million.

Turner says this is what the cost of segregation looks like, nearly a billion dollars leaves the community because there are no businesses or development in the area. Also the extends the notion that the RLE is good for the entire metro area

Andrea Cooper from the Chicago Federation of Labor stands in solidarity with all working families and says that the TIF is critical to securing federal funding.

Bonnie Sanchez from the Near South Planning Board overwhelmingly supports the project. The board does have concerns about large parcels of land not available for other TIFs during the 35 years

Alderman Pat Dowell joins and says the jury is still out for her but she appreciates the conversations with CTA. Dowell has concerns about investing in existing stations but remains hopeful

Hatten Butler adjourns the public hearing and brings the amendment to a roll call vote. McKibben votes no, but the motion passes

We’re now on to New Business in the agenda. The first item of business is in the Chicago/ Central Park TIF Redevelopment project area in ward 37.

Tamra Collins presents on the Department of Housing’s request to negotiate a redevelopment agreement with 548 Development LLC to develop the properties at 3831 & 3853 W Chicago Ave and 739-741 N Springfield Ave in the Chicago/ Central Park TIF.

The redevelopment rendering for 3831 W Chicago is show below, as well as the zoning and sources.The site sits on 4 city owned parcels and will include a green roof, solar panels, grocery store, commercial and office space and 60 residential units https://t.co/L6CyzZ1poJ

Hatten Butler asks if Alderman Mitts is present, they are not. The roll call vote, commences and the motion passes

Michael Parella, DPD, presents on the negotiation to enter a redevelopment agreement with Westside Health Authority for the redevelopment of the property at 5500 W Madison St in the Madison/Austin Corridor TIF area

The Westside Health Authority wants to repurpose Robert Emmet Elementary, a now closed CPS school building, into a 76,500 Sq ft workforce training center named the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation.

Below you can see renderings of the building, site plan and sources. The proposed development will cost $27.9 million and will feature a community plaza, case management & employment services, as well as a business incubator, bank and restaurant https://t.co/MIc5GGt8xF