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Chicago Tribune
17-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Carpentersville annexes nearly 150 acres as it moves forward with plans for new TIF district
Carpentersville has annexed 147.9 acres along the Randall and Huntley roads with an eye towards creating a new Tax Increment Financing district to spur development. Agreements for the most recent two annexations were approved this week by the Carpentersville Village Board. Other parcels have already been brought into the village with earlier votes, officials said. 'We cannot create a TIF district outside of our municipal jurisdiction so a prerequisite of even discussing the economic incentives the TIF district will offer was conditional on the properties annexing into the village,' Village Manager Brad Stewart said. Having control of the property and being able to offer financial inducements through a TIF means 'expanding our opportunities to bring in meaningful development,' Stewart said. The first annexation approved at Tuesday's meeting was of a 9.94-acre parcel south of the Grandview Drive and Randall Road intersection. The property lies east of Randall Road. Property owner RTW Properties has no immediate plans for development but wants to be part the TIF district Carpentersville is putting together, Stewart said. When the owner is ready to develop, they will be seeking commercial zoning, which would benefit the village by expanding, strengthening and diversifying the village's property tax base, he said. RTW's property is already within Carpentersville's planning jurisdiction because of a boundary agreement the village has with Algonquin, Stewart said. Any future development on the site would still require village approval, he said. The second property consists of six parcels for a total of 84.73 acres. A single-family home and storage barns are located on three acres and the rest is undeveloped. A majority of the land is between Randall Road to the east and Huntley Road to the west. Owner L&H Farm LTD Partnership doesn't development plans yet but would seek mixed zoning when it does, Stewart said. As is the case with the other property, Carpentersville would need to sign off on future use. 'Some of the property owners and the village have already had some discussions with some interested developers,' Stewart said. 'This all really ties together very nicely.' That said, there are also some development challenges: wetlands, infrastructure deficiencies and flooding plains make some of the land difficult to build on, he said. That's where a TIF district creating economic incentives will help, Stewart said. In January, the village hired Johnson Research Group to do a TIF Eligibility Study and Redevelopment Plan for 138 acres of land along Randall and Huntley roads. 'The study strongly supports that a TIF district is appropriate for this area,' Stewart said. One criteria is if an area has water drainage issues or a significant amount of wetlands, he said. Mitigating those issues requires a huge investment and can't be resolved simply by pouring concrete over the land, he said. 'Quite the opposite. Any developer is responsible not only for maintaining some open spaces and the natural environment but also for ensuring stormwater drainage is managed with no (negative) effect on other properties in our community,' Stewart said. The village's discussion of a creating a new TIF district has encouraged some property owners to voluntarily come into the village, he said. Last year, Carpentersville annexed about 150 acres in the area off Huntley Road. If approved, a Randall/Huntley Road TIF would be the village's fourth district. It already has TIFs covering property in Old Town, Meadowdale and the area surrounding the former Spring Hill Mall. On Tuesday, trustees moved forward with plans to conduct a Sept. 2 public hearing for the proposed district. It will be held during a regular village board meeting at which time more details are to be released. Stewart said there's already one developer who is considering a parcel on Randall Road, north of the former Dominick's site, for a 300-unit luxury townhome subdivision once the TIF is in place. 'We have continued to talk with that particular developer, who remains highly interested in proceeding,' Stewart said. The economic incentives tied to the TIF district would have to be in place before they can proceed, he said. All told, the village has expanded to add 300 new acres to its borders through annexation in the last 18 months, Stewart said. 'It's very exciting to be in that sort of growth mode because that growth is what gives us the opportunity to have meaningful development,' he said.
Chicago Tribune
14-03-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Denise Richardson, Carpentersville village trustee and Spring Hill Mall manager, dead at age 59
Last March, Denise Richardson was on hand to say goodbye to the Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee/Carpentersville when it closed after four decades. A year later, family and friends are saying goodbye to Richardson, the mall's former general manager and a Carpentersville Village Board trustee who died March 8 after being treated for cancer. Penny Williams was friends with Richardson for 40 years. The two went to Elgin Community College together. What she loved most about her friend, Williams said, was 'her ability to make you laugh. No matter what you had going on, she could make you laugh. … She was a pretty strong person even when she didn't know she was.' That strength was evident in the last year of her life, she said. Richardson, who would've turned 60 on Wednesday, grew up in Elgin. She graduated from Elgin High School in 1983, studied human services and counseling at ECC, and became Spring Hill Mall's general manager in October 2021. It was a place she was familiar with, having grown up going to the mall as a teenager. In March 2024, the same month the mall closed, Richardson was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, according to a GoFundMe created by her daughter, Brittney. The cancer spread to her back and hip, the post said. Richardson moved to an Elgin nursing home in January, where she had 24-hour care and hospice support, according to a social media post. She had hoped to be able to walk again and regain her independence, the post said. 'If you've ever met my mom, you'd know she radiates joy and laughter,' Brittney said in the GoFundMe message. She attached a YouTube video of Richardson appearing on her daughter's channel that showcased her personality. Her friends will remember her joy and laughter and 'how she could make you smile and laugh until you cried. She just had that wonderful ability about her. She could just lift your spirits,' Williams said. Richardson remained on the village board during her illness. 'Trustee Richardson was a valued member of the board of trustees who advocated for residents and businesses,' Carpentersville Village Manager John O'Sullivan said. Richardson was appointed to the board in 2023 by Village President John Skillman, filling the seat left vacant by O'Sullivan after he was hired as village manager. 'She was a tough person with a tender heart, and those of us who worked with her here at the village of Carpentersville will miss her,' O'Sullivan said. Richardson was proud of the work she did on the board and that she could have a positive impact on the village, Williams said. Her term ends in May. Hers is one of three seats up for election on April 1. Williams said Richardson's family is having a memorial in the summer, but no date has been set. The memorial will likely be in the Elgin area, she said. 'We grew up here, so we know a lot of people,' Williams said. 'When she moved to Carpentersville, she really got involved in the community there. She really loved it there.'
