The Skokie Village Board recently approved a tax break extension for an industrial property that originally got the financial relief 12 years ago.
In November, 2006 the trustees approved a Cook County class 6B designation for the site in the 3500 block of Howard Street. Although the tax break is granted by the county, the village must also approve of it, according to county rules for the incentive.
The county’s class 6B incentive is designed to encourage industrial growth for the development of new industrial facilities, rehabilitation of existing properties and reusing abandoned industrial buildings, according to county information about the program.
Village attorney Michael Lorge said April 16 that owners of only 12 Skokie properties in the last 15 years have come before the village seeking the county tax incentive.
“The village must be flexible to maintain and support these investments and businesses which have already contributed to our community and for which Cook County is prepared to extend its…status,” he said.
Properties receiving the tax break are assessed at 16 percent of the market value of property for the first 10 years, 23 percent in the 11th year and 30 percent in the 12th year before returning to the normal industrial assessment rate of 36 percent, according to county information about the incentive.
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Owners of the Howard Street property requested to have the 12-year incentive continue.
Developer Weiss Properties was eyeing smaller, industrial, distribution and warehousing users when it applied for the tax break in 2006. Currently, there is one building on the property with tenant spaces from 3501 to 3531 Howard Street, according to documents presented to the village.
Original development plans called for a renovation project of more than $2 million. Lorge said 68 to 78 percent of the original overhaul plans have been completed.
According to village officials, the property includes about 192,000 square feet of building space on about 8.3 acres of land.
“The property has now fallen into a state of disrepair, and mechanical and structural elements continue to deteriorate,” said then-Economic Development Coordinator Tom Thompson when the incentive first came before the Village Board. “The property has been severely neglected for several years and is in poor condition.”
Lorge said upgrades to the property have already allowed for a large jump in the county tax assessment.
He acknowledged the village has been hesitant to support tax break extensions — in part because of a belief that the original tax relief should allow a project to stabilize itself within a dozen years, he said.
But after discussions with the county, Lorge said there was consensus that tax relief could be extended when “a property is on a trajectory toward stability, but has not quite achieved it” and for other extenuating circumstances.
Both Lorge and Skokie economic development officials said extension requests should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Skokie Economic Development Manager Len Becker said it’s to Skokie’s benefit to see this Howard Street property thrive.
“This is very unique property in the fact that it truly is an incubator type of property,” Becker said. “There are few and far between…it’s an industrial incubator. It also provides small space for office tenants.”