$24M Englewood Retail Project Gets TIF Help

Smithfield Properties will receive a $5.4-million developer's note that will be paid down during the 23-year life of the Englewood Neighborhood Redevelopment Project, while the city will sell 18 parcels worth $832,000 to Englewood Commercial Development Co., a group of 19 merchants now operating where the new community college will be built, for $1.

The city's subsidy may grow by another $3 million, notes department of planning and development project manager Judy Jackson, as it pays for relocation costs for the merchants in the 5900 and 6000 blocks of Halsted. Most of the property is vacant, abandoned and in deteriorated condition, she notes, with half of the vacant parcels already owned by the city.

The new retail development will consist of six buildings with 72 storefronts and 320 parking spaces off Halsted Street, Jackson says. So far, 58% of the project is pre-leased, says Smithfield principal Robert Buono, adding the developers are working with a book store, donut shop and sit-down restaurant on lease deals. Also on the priority list, he adds, is a commercial bank and a drug store. Oakbrook-based Mid-America Realty Management is handling leasing for the project.

"We also have a long waiting list of tenants that could occupy the entire project," Buono says. "We've had a very positive response so far. However, we've intentionally left a significant portion of the development open to attract those type of (national) tenants."

Space will rent for an average of $12 per sf, Buono says.

The project will not be the typical Chicago style red-brick format with residential units above first-floor storefronts, promises Smithfield principal Bill Smith. The firm has hired noted architect Lucien Lagrange, whose preliminary design includes painted exposed steel.

"We wanted to try something that was on the cutting edge for the community," Smith says. However, the project needs to begin this fall with completion next summer to accommodate the construction schedule of the community college, he adds. "It's a hard project," Smith says.

Buono and Smith are in talks with MB Financial and First American Bank for construction financing that could be converted to a mini-permanent loan. Shorebank also could be added to the mix, Buono adds. It doesn't hurt that MB Financial already lends to many of the businesses that are part of the new project.

"We believe this will be very successful," says department of planning and development project manager Steve Patterson. "The financials are very healthy."

However, community development commission members and Englewood activists questioned the involvement of the Englewood Commercial Development Co. While commission members questioned the entity's financial wherewithal before unanimously recommending the project, Englewood neighbors object that the group is entirely Korean-American in a neighborhood that is almost exclusively African-American.