Tinley Park’s Legacy Tax Increment Financing District generated about $11.5 million in revenue and provided about $6.7 million in spending over the past 10 years, Tinley Park Finance Director Sarah Mitchell said Tuesday.
“A significant investment was the construction of Freedom Pond, totaling approximately $5.9 million,” Mitchell told the Village Board.
The TIF district encompasses 217 acres stretching east of Oak Park Avenue and south of Oak Forest Avenue. Property taxes in a TIF district are frozen at creation with any increase, or increment, going into a fund aimed at spurring redevelopment.
Work on the Freedom Pond, a detention basin on 8 acres at the northeast corner of 175th Street and Ridgeland Avenue, began in 2017, and was completed in fiscal year 2023. Its purpose is to collect stormwater as redevelopment “creates new impervious surfaces” which can increase stormwater runoff, according to the village’s website.
The district, created in 2016, includes the former world headquarters of the Panduit Corporation, a major local employer. Panduit started its business in 1955 and eventually occupied substantial space in the area, but relocated in 2010 to a different site in Tinley Park, according to the report.
In doing so, it left behind “largely vacant obsolete structures and sites requiring demolition and environmental remediation prior to redevelopment,” the report said. “Additionally, the abutting residential area lacked adequate stormwater and water and sanitary systems.”
Besides the pond, other infrastructure improvements included a project to repair sewage pipes and cure linings, and a water main extension and reconstruction project, according to the report.
“The district has also seen substantial private development, with D.R. Horton’s residential subdivision about 95% complete, and total private investment of approximately $128 million,” Mitchell said.
The subdivision being constructed by homebuilding firm D.R. Horton on part of the former Panduit site will consist of 62 single-family attached homes, 81 detached single-family homes and a neighborhood park. It is expected to be completed in winter of this year, according to the report.
Integrity Wall, a manufacturer of wall panels, also plans to renovate the vacant former ABC Supply Company property at the southeast corner of Oak Forest Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue into a wall panel assembly line manufacturing facility, according to the report.
“Overall, the report reflects significant public and private investment and substantial growth in the Legacy TIF District,” Mitchell said.
The report concluded that the assessed equalized value of property within the district grew by $16.9 million, or 89%, between 2016 and 2024, the most recent year from which records were available.
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“So far, we’re 10 years into the 23 years, it’s doing well,” marketing director Donna Framke said.
Annual review meetings on the Legacy TIF District and Tinley Park’s four other TIF districts are scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Tinley Park Village Hall, 16250 S. Oak Park Ave.