As developers shift away from big box retailers at Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, property owners on the east side of Route 59 near the mall are asking Naperville for development tools to revitalize their business properties.
On Tuesday the Naperville City Council will field a request by New York-based Brixmor Property Group to pursue the creation of a business district that would allow the city to levy an additional sales tax on the property to fund a makeover of its shopping centers.
Brixmor wants to pay for relocating water, sewer, utilities, parking lots and roads within the Westridge Court and Heritage Square shopping areas at 404-405 S. Route 59, north of Aurora Avenue, using the revenue generated by the additional sales tax on businesses within the proposed district.
The company, which owns and operates nearly 380 retail centers across the country, wants to remove many of the existing big box buildings and reorient the site with a central core surrounded by outlots, according a memo from Bill Novack, director of Transportation, Engineering and Development for the city.
The two neighboring shopping plazas were built in the 1990s when big box stores dominated the commercial landscape.
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Across the country, Brixmor is redeveloping dated commercial properties by getting rid of vacant retail buildings that once housed big box anchor stores and replacing them with grocery stores or junior anchor stores.
For example, the Tinley Park Village Board in 2020 approved Brixmor’s plans for a $22 million rehab of the Tinley Park Plaza commercial center at 159th Street and Harlem Avenue with the help of tax increment financing.
Instead of relying on TIF money, Brixmor is asking Naperville for help paying for the Westridge and Heritage Square improvements by imposing an additional sales tax — up to 1% — on items sold by the businesses within the district.
It’s similar to the request made by Heinen’s Grocery Store to redevelop the neighborhood shopping center built in 1974 at Chicago Avenue and Olesen Drive on the city’s far east side. A proposal to create a business district there is under review by the council
Heinen’s is looking for the city to add a half percent sales tax to be used to fund an overhaul of the property drainage system that has caused the buildings and parking lot to deteriorate.
Heinen hired consultant Kane, McKenna and Associates, which determined the property met the qualifications necessary for Naperville to create a business district and levy the added tax.
Brixmor also tabbed Kane, McKenna and Associates to make an assessment of its Route 59 properties.