Developer Subsidy Gets Elmhurst's OK

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst City Council voted in favor of giving a developer $400,000 more in subsidies for a townhome project.

The vote was 10-0. Aldermen Brian Cahill, Jennifer Veremis and Jacob Hill were absent.

Alderman Chris Jensen voted "present," effectively abstaining from the decision. He did not explain why during the meeting. He later told Patch in an email that he voted present to avoid the appearance of a possible conflict of interest.

The additional assistance brings the total to $1.3 million. It is coming through the neighborhood's tax increment financing district, or TIF.

It is going to developer John Pembroke of Island Construction, who plans a townhome development at 240 W. Lake St. The land is the site of an old Ford auto body shop, which has gone unused for more than a dozen years.

Pembroke sought more assistance last summer after the city's Zoning and Planning Commission rejected his plan for 36 units, saying it was too dense.

He has since proposed reducing the development to 30 townhomes. But he said he needed more city money because a smaller development made it less profitable. He wanted a total of $1.7 million; a council committee recommended $1.3 million.

The Zoning and Planning Commission has yet to review the new proposal.

At the council meeting, Alderwoman Dannee Polomsky said the council's decision on the money would have no bearing on zoning approval. She heads the council's Development, Planning and Zoning Committee, which recommended the assistance.

Alderman Bob Dunn supported giving the money, noting the lot has been vacant for a long time.

"It's a good thing that it's being looked at for development," Dunn said.

He said the $1.3 million would amount to about 10 percent of the $15 million project.

"A lot of it is infrastructure development that is not only going to benefit this particular parcel, but I read that there would be some help for residents on Maple for the sanitary sewer problems that they have had," the alderman said.

But he asked whether the assistance would include a windfall clause in case the townhomes sold for a lot more than originally thought.

Polomsky said the committee had not included such a clause, saying it based its decision on the estimated sales price. She said the city would benefit if the cost of stormwater infrastructure was less than estimated, which she said was likely.

Dunn said he expected a later agreement with the developer would contain such a clause.

"I think it's in our policy to have that in the agreement," he said.

Polomsky agreed.

With the project, the city expects the property value to grow enough over time to generate the property taxes to pay off the $1.3 million.

According to a city memo, the project payback would be a dozen years for city expenses.

The memo said the lot was unique because it lacks close access to city water. And the depth of the storm sewer in this spot renders it unusable for development, the city said. Much of the assistance is dedicated to fixing those problems.