CHICAGO-Owners of a longtime Southwest Side shopping center could get as much as $18 million in tax increment financing to lure a big-box retailer, such as a Lowe's home improvement store. Using tax increment financing at the southeast corner of 79th Street and Cicero Avenue, site of the Scottsdale Shopping Center, was endorsed Tuesday by the community development commission.

Built in 1955, the 16-acre retail center a few blocks south of the Ford City Mall now has a vacancy rate of about 50%, says department of planning and development project manager Bill Neuendorf. While not yet a blighted area, the center's vacancy along with obsolete and deteriorating buildings help make it a candidate for redevelopment assistance.

"The city hopes to encourage private investment and redevelopment at the site," Neuendorf says. The equalized assessed value of the center now is less than $8 million--suggesting a market value of $22 million--but could be increased to more than $19 million, according to Neuendorf, as tenants are lured to the center.

Although the local 4,000-member Scottsdale Homeowners Association is anxious to see a Lowe's open in the neighborhood, Neuendorf cautions the center's owners are in discussions with potential tenants, and has not seen a plan. However, financial incentives could help stem the tide of big-box retailers settling on locations across Cicero Avenue in Bedford Park, as well as Burbank, a suburb to the north, he adds.