Carlinville Plaza

By Rick Wade    June 6, 2013

The Carlinville City Council approved a resolution authorizing the city to enter into an agreement with Carlinville Associates LLC for the redevelopment of Carlinville Plaza.  “We have been after this the past six years. Negotiations were on, negotiations were off,” said Alderman Dave Steiner. “Only in the last three or four months, it has been gung ho. I’ve had experience with negotiations in the past, this is the first time it’s gone as smooth as it has.”

 

Steiner, who is also chair of the Finance Committee which only hours before had approved the redevelopment agreement, outlined some pertinent points in the contract.  “The TIF District was set up to bring business to this town. Twenty-five percent of the TIF money, based on real estate property taxes, goes to the school district. They are asking for the other 75 percent,” said Steiner.

 

The developers are also seeking 100 percent of the money generated by the one cent retailers occupation tax on the businesses in the business district, for the Plaza only. They are also seeking 50 percent of the municipal tax money that will be generated by the anchor store, as yet unnamed.

 

The city would be using the funding to approve and pay reimbursable bills submitted by the developers.

The contract calls for construction to begin within 18 months.  Carlinville Plaza, once a hive of retail activity, still has several businesses operating, but other parts of the shopping center are in dire need of repair, renovation and reconstruction.  It has been the focus of a good deal of the council’s attention in the past few years, with Macoupin Economic Development Partnership working as a go between the city, Central Realty, the owners of the Plaza, and the unnamed anchor store.