The city is preparing to issue $4 million in tax-increment financing bonds to build a three-story parking deck as part of developer Kent Shodeen’s proposed north riverfront redevelopment project.
Whether the bonds are issued and the structure built depends on negotiations between the city and Shodeen to get an agreement signed in the next seven months.
“We need very firm developer commitments,” said city administrator Phil Page. “The time frame makes it a bit of a challenge to get it all done.”
In April, Shodeen unveiled plans to build 60,000 square feet of commercial, office and restaurant space, a 90-room hotel and 194 condominium units in the area north of State Street and west of the Fox River.
Shodeen’s other downtown redevelopment projects were Geneva on the Dam commercial center and the Herrington Inn resort.
The area to be redveloped, mostly vacant parcels marked by two former coal silos, was home to a manufacturing center during the turn of the century. It now comprises the northwest quadrant of the city’s downtown tax-increment financing district.
More Top Picks Best Ring Lights For Food Photography
State TIF laws allow municipalities to issue bonds to pay for infrastructure improvements related to redevelopment. The bonds are repaid with property-tax revenue created by the redevelopment.