If all goes according to schedule, a new tax increment financing (TIF) district in downtown Brookfield could be in place by the end of November after the village board agreed on the boundaries of the district at their meeting on July 8.
Called the Grand Boulevard TIF, the district would include commercial, mixed use and residential properties on both sides of the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad tracks in the 3700 blocks of Grand Boulevard, Sunnyside Avenue and Prairie Avenue, the 8900 blocks of Grant, Fairview and Brookfield avenues and the 8800 and 8900 blocks of Burlington Avenue.
It would be the fourth TIF district located in the village and would freeze the amount of property taxes flowing to government agencies and school districts whose boundaries fall within the TIF for the next 23 years.
Any incremental property tax assessments due to improvements within the TIF will be held in a special fund during that time and can be spent only within the TIF for things like property assembly, infrastructure improvements, environmental remediation and incentives for redevelopment.
A consultant hired earlier this year issued a report in June stating the area qualifies to be classified as a TIF due to the age of its buildings and a history of declining equalized assessed property values.
The TIF map OK’d by the village board on July 8 is largely similar to the one originally proposed in June. However, it now includes residential properties on the east side of the 3700 block of Sunnyside Avenue and carves out two new residential developments – at 8917 Grant Ave. and 8934 Fairview Ave. — which almost surely would not be redeveloped in the next 23 years.
Some trustees had suggested also adding properties on the west side of the 3700 block of Forest Avenue to the map, but the board decided against it in order to expedite the approval process.
Since there are fewer than 75 residential units within the TIF boundaries, the village avoids having to do a housing impact study, send written notice to all residents of the proposed district, convene an additional public hearing and name a resident of the proposed TIF district to the Joint Review Board of taxing bodies that will meet this fall and make an advisory recommendation regarding approval.
Having to take those additional steps would have added another two months to the process, according to officials.
Village Manager Timothy Wiberg said that the village board in early September likely would approve an ordinance establishing the date of a public hearing on the TIF. That public hearing would be convened in late October after the Joint Review Board meets.
If all goes as planned, the village board is likely to vote to adopt an ordinance establishing the TIF district at their second meeting in November.
That will also be the timeline for amending the map of the Eight Corners TIF, a parallel process that is separate from the creation of the Grand Boulevard TIF. The map of the Eight Corners TIF, which was created in late 2016, will be amended to include the former Brookfield Bowl parking lot, a commercial building at 9037-49 Monroe Ave. which has just been rezoned for commercial use as well as the Off Broadway Pub property at 9048 Monroe Ave. and the two residential lots immediately east of the pub building.
