Brookfield officials are gearing up to approve an agreement subsidizing some of the costs to develop the vacant triangle property on Fairview Avenue.
Trustees are set to vote on a $300,000 redevelopment agreement between the village and Connemara Holdings, LLC, which plans to build a mixed-use luxury apartment complex with 27 apartments and three commercial spaces on the first floor at the triangle property, 8921-47 Fairview Ave. The village approved a final plan for the development in May, about a year after approving a preliminary plan.
If the village board votes to approve the agreement on Monday, Oct. 26, Brookfield will convey $300,000 from its Grand Boulevard tax-increment financing (TIF) district to the developers at three project milestones, Community Development Director Libby Popovic said.
$100,000 will be conveyed once the developers demolish the existing structure and secure building permits, while $150,000 will be given out when the water, sewer and foundation work is complete, and the final $50,000 will be shared following the issuance of certificates of occupancy for the 27 residential units, Popovic said.
Popovic said the developers are still working on their final drawings to submit for building permits, with the $300,000 conveyance budgeted for fiscal year 2027, though she said the funds have been earmarked for several years since the project began in 2020.
“We thought it might be coming out this year or even the year before that. It looks like it was on your books the year before that, too,” she said. “We’re ready for 2027.”
Village President Michael Garvey said village staff had worked to help Connemara purchase a western section of the triangle property from Brookfield Zoo Chicago in order to develop the entire site.
Trustee Jennifer Hendricks suggested tying one of the payout milestones to the signing of a lease for one of the commercial spaces on the complex’s first floor. Popovic and Village Attorney Adam Durkin said they had the same idea, but it “fell by the wayside” during negotiations with Connemara.
Village Manager Tim Wiberg called the subsidy a “pretty good investment” due to the development’s location in the Grand Boulevard TIF district.
“Once we’re done and we’ve honored the $300,000, we keep 100% of the increment,” Wiberg said. “The anticipation is this project is going to contribute, certainly over the life of the remainder of the TIF, much more than what we’re giving out.”
When a TIF district is established, the existing property values are recorded and frozen for the duration of 23 years. Any property tax revenue generated from an increase in property values within the district during its lifespan is deposited into a special fund that the municipality can use to further invest in the area’s development.
Garvey lauded the development as “the largest project [Brookfield] will ever have” in “a prime location.”
“We also have very good reason to believe, based on conversations that have been taking place, that this will transform that area and generate other developments,” Garvey said.
