Champaign City Council approves CS Johnson reimbursement resolution

Update at 8:30 p.m.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The Champaign City Council has voted to pursue the creation of a new TIF District and to allow expenses spent designing the CS Johnson Factory redevelopment to be TIF eligible.

The former CS Johnson Factory at Springfield Avenue and Kenwood Road was built in 1931, but closed in 2005. Piles of trash, old equipment and couches have taken over the abandoned property.

Community Property Management wants the building to be torn down, and replaced with 300 apartments. The City is stepping in to see what’s possible, with Tuesday night’s vote on the “Inducement Resolution” passing unanimously.

Community Property Management (CPM) CEO Nathan Shoemaker spoke in front of the board at Tuesday’s meeting. Shoemaker said this resolution will help the project get professional advice on infrastructure and financial issues.

Other community members spoke in front of the board, asking them to consider low-income housing options, environmental cleanup and those who might be impacted by the construction.

This resolution does not immediately create a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district or approve a development project.

“Our primary interest is finding a way to remediate the blighting influence the factory is having on the overall neighborhood,” said Champaign Economic Development Manager TJ Blakeman.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The Champaign City Council will vote Tuesday night on a proposal to redevelop the CS Johnson Factory building into a 300-unit apartment complex.

Terry Blakeman, economic development manager, says Community Property Management (CPM) plans to tear the building down to create an apartment complex with amenities, commercial kitchen projects and a facilities building.

According to the City of Champaign’s Planning and Development department, the project is not financially possible without assistance towards buying the land, demolition and infrastructure costs.

The City needs to designate this area as a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. If they are successful, they will adopt a redevelopment plan and assist the project with funds from the City’s special tax allocation fund.

Approving the resolution Tuesday night would allow any expenses made before it is enacted to be reimbursed.

City or project expenses eligible for reimbursement :

• Land assembly
• Demolition, grading and site preparation, and utilities
• Professional services including legal, zoning, redevelopment consulting, architectural
  and engineering services, landscape architectural services, design guidelines,
  appraisals, surveys, market studies, traffic studies, environmental and geotechnical
• Costs of the construction of public works or improvements
  services, and market studies
• All or a portion of a taxing district’s capital costs resulting from the redevelopment
  plan
• Rehabilitation, reconstruction or repair or remodeling of existing public or private
  buildings, fixtures, and improvements
• Relocation costs, payment in lieu of taxes, costs of job training, and interest cost

The vote will happen at Tuesday night’s meeting which will start at 7 p.m. If the “Inducement Resolution” passes, the City will continue to work on creating the TIF District around Springfield and Mattis.

If the TIF district is created, Blakeman says it will be finalized between November and January.

The development team says the final product would help to grow the area. And, it goes along with the council’s goal to reinvest in development throughout the city.

The CS Johnson Factory is located at the 500 block of Kenwood Road and 2200 block of West Springfield Avenue. Community Property Management bought the building around 2005. Today, the building is generally used as storage for CPM and has fallen into disrepair.

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