Latest news with #DanBotich
Chicago Tribune
03-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Portage residential TIF for police raises likely to start in November
The Portage Redevelopment Commission plans to discuss in detail plans for its first residential tax increment financing district later this month. Redevelopment Director Dan Botich and others have been hammering out a plan with developers of six different subdivisions, Botich told the commission during a meeting June 26. A public hearing on the plan will be scheduled for Aug. 28, following approval of a schedule at the RDC's July 24 meeting. The Portage Township assessor, Portage Township Schools Superintendent Amanda Alaniz, School Board President Andy Maletta, neighborhood associations and impacted property owners will all be briefed on the plan, Botich said. The process of establishing a new TIF district involves approval by the RDC, then the City Council, then the RDC again. Once the council makes a decision, the RDC will schedule another public hearing to confirm it. That should get money rolling into the city's coffers as soon as November, Botich said. That revenue is important as a means to pay for the police raises approved by the council last month. Without that money, the city wouldn't be able to afford the raises. It's a complicated financing structure, but essentially, developers would pay 25% of the fee up front to the city to cover public safety and other needs. The remaining 75% of the money would be used to cover bonds issued to pay for infrastructure improvements. That 25% fee would disappear when a subdivision is 80% completed, providing an incentive for developers to move quickly to sell the lots. 'It's a very creative financial method in order to have dollars come back to the Redevelopment Commission,' Botich said. 'It's a lot to take in right now,' he said, but he plans to present everything at the July 24 meeting. 'We've been working on this for a while, and it's been very complicated and very complex,' he said. Mayor Austin Bonta said affected local taxing districts are being notified already to make sure they're aware of how this works. Botich said an economic development analysis has already been run for two of the subdivisions and will be used on the others. 'We have made great strides moving forward. We want to make sure this is done correctly,' he said. 'We have all our ducks in a line, and we're getting everything ready.' Because a TIF captures money that would otherwise go to schools, the RDC has a grant program to ease the pain for schools. At last month's meeting, the RDC granted $250,000 to Portage Township Schools to help pay the cost of iPads for students in grades 2 and 8. With a total of about 1,000 students, at $400 apiece, that leaves the RDC paying about two-thirds of the cost, Botich said.
Chicago Tribune
25-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Portage RDC starts work on bond to open 450 acres to development; Marquette Greenway segment is included
The Portage Redevelopment Commission started the process of issuing a $10 million bond to pay for a bridge and other infrastructure improvements to open up about 450 acres on the city's north side for development. The RDC adopted a preliminary resolution for the bond Thursday, the first step in borrowing the money. The resolution covers hiring Barnes & Thornburg to do legal work for the bond. Redevelopment Director Dan Botich said the work includes connecting Burns Parkway to U.S. 12 from the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission office on Southport Road in the Ameriplex complex. The work is important not just for opening land for development but also for extending the Marquette Greenway, which will eventually stretch from Chicago to New Buffalo, Michigan. The roadway will become a boulevard similar to national park roads, Botich said. The $10 million would be the local share of the project's total cost. Botich is still looking for funds for the remainder, including a potential federal RAISE grant or state READI funding. Once the road is completed, the city could see a $450 million to $500 million investment in that 450 acres, Botich said. The state requires the city to have 'skin in the game,' he said, so the bond is needed. Further along in the process, specific projects will be listed, Botich said. Mayor Austin Bonta said the city investigated other avenues for funding the road and trails, and the bond seemed the most appropriate option. 'You don't have to go for the maximum,' Botich said, if other funding sources arise. The $10 million figure sets a maximum amount to borrow, just as the maximum interest rate for the 20-year bond would be 7%. Portage Township School Board member Wilma Vazquez, a nonvoting member of the RDC, asked about the RDC's outstanding bond obligations. That's going to be spelled out in a work session next month, and it's listed in the RDC's annual report, Botich said. The RDC is also looking at residential tax increment financing districts for future subdivisions, including Bauer Farm and Sandy Trail, Botich said. The RDC delayed action on the proposal for another month while the city works out details with developers. Botich said the TIF plan calls for the developers to pay a fee to the city up front that would be used for a variety of purposes, including raises for police officers approved by the City Council this month. That annual fee would disappear when the subdivision is considered fully built out, meaning 90% of the lots have been developed. The fee would vary for each subdivision. 'The numbers will be different because of the size of the neighborhoods and the investment involved,' Bonta explained. Developers hope to see the program details ironed out within 30 days, Botich said. The RDC also agreed to budget up to $300,000 next year for the north side sewer interceptor project. That helps pay for relocating the planned major sewer line away from north side acreage so the property retains its high dollar value. The RDC purchased that property shortly before the city went to bid on the project, utilities department General Superintendent Tracie Marshall said. The city had built in $500,000 for that contingency, but the actual cost turned out to be up to $800,000. With the RDC paying the extra amount next year, the work can go forward. 'I want to stress it's not because utilities did anything wrong,' Bonta said. The city had designed the interceptor in the most cost-efficient way, but running the interceptor down the middle of that parcel would devalue the property, he said.
