Aug. 12—CHAMPAIGN — At 217 acres, the proposed Springfield and Mattis tax-increment-financing district isn't the largest in the city, but it's up there, said T.J. Blakeman, the city's economic development manager.
He estimated it's probably the second biggest after the 507-acre Garden Hills TIF district.
"This one's pretty good-sized," Blakeman said. "Obviously, it's a little different than our downtown TIFs where things are really compact, and we're talking about focusing redevelopment on a really small, kind of targeted area. This one is a little bit more expansive."
The boundaries of the proposed TIF district include the Country Fair Shopping Center, the Champaign Park Apartments, the Country Brook Apartments, the Round Barn Shops, the Shops at Glenn Park, the Schnucks Plaza and the former C.S. Johnson Factory.
The city will hold a public meeting from 4 to 5 p.m. tonight at the City Building, 102 N. Neil St., to share information about the proposed TIF district.
"It will be open-house-style, where we typically do not get a lot of people that come out, but there could be some," Blakeman said. "And it's a chance for me to address their questions or issues one-on-one."
The city council previously voted in June to approve a resolution enabling the city to use funds from the TIF district to reimburse expenses incurred in the redevelopment of the Country Fair Shopping Center that was launched prior to its creation.
The 36-acre shopping center is currently owned by GMS Management, which put the property up for sale in September 2022.
Blakeman wrote in a June report to the council that the site is under contract to a team of investors who are doing their due diligence before closing on it.
"The potential buyers include a team led by The Matanky Realty Group and includes Shoora Savire LLC of Nevada and Lanlir LLC of California," he said. "During ongoing discussions, the development team has indicated their interest in acquiring and redeveloping the entire site."
The group is still doing its due diligence, Blakeman told The News-Gazette. He said it's too early to say what their plans for the site might be.
However, he said it was important to the city to ensure that the shopping center was included in the TIF district, as they believe its future will have significant ripple effects.
"We really see what happens with the Country Fair Shopping Center proper will have ramifications on trying to clean up the entire area," he said.
When asked if there are other redevelopment projects in the works within the boundaries of the TIF district, Blakeman said he is not aware of anything "concrete."
However, he noted that the area includes the Champaign Park Apartments, and the city is also "anxious" to see activity at the former C.S. Johnson factory, now owned by Community Property Management. The draft redevelopment plan envisions the plant as being rezoned residential for "future multi-family development."
Following the Aug. 12 public meeting, city staff plan to send a resolution the council's Aug. 20 meeting to fix a date for a public hearing, Blakeman said.
There will then be a meeting of the Joint Review Board, an advisory body made up of representatives from other taxing bodies that overlap the proposed TIF district, which will vote on whether to recommend the proposal to the council. That will likely happen sometime in mid- to late September, Blakeman said.
If the review board votes to recommend, the council can approve it with a simple majority vote. If the board declines to recommend, the council would need a three-fifths majority to vote in favor for the plan to go ahead.
Following the review board's vote, the plan is then to have a public hearing at the council's Oct. 15 meeting, with city staff asking the council to adopt the TIF district sometime between late October 2024 and mid-January 2025, Blakeman said.
More information about the proposed TIF district is available at . Questions can also be directed to city planning staff at .
When asked if members of the public can provide input, Blakeman replied that they can, but the boundary lines are basically "fixed" now.
"I supposed if either there was a real concern about adding or subtracting a piece of property, it's possible, but that will cause further complications in the creation of the district," he said.
Blakeman said that he has not heard much feedback since the TIF-district proposal was announced. However, in general, the city has seen some interest in the idea of revitalizing the area.
"We hear from folks who are excited about something happening to improve the area out there," he said. "That's always top of mind for folks. Obviously, council felt strongly enough to make it a council goal this time, to try to get Country Fair redeveloped and strengthened out there. So the comments are generally, 'We're anxious to see something happen out there.'"
