LaSalle committee approves applying for River Edge redevelopment zone covering downtown

The LaSalle Economic Development Committee voted to complete a certification application to have most of the city’s downtown considered for the state’s River Edge Redevelopment Zone on a 3-0 roll call Thursday, sending the proposal on to the full City Council.

Committee staff described the proposed zone as a roughly triangular area measured from the riverbank outward (an offset of about 1,500 yards was used in the mapping exercise) that would cover much of downtown up to around Fifth Street. Staff said the state representative who reviewed LaSalle’s situation helped develop the map and that LaSalle is eligible to apply but is not yet designated.

The designation, officials said, would offer incentives sometimes compared to enterprise-zone benefits: dividend and interest-income deductions, new-construction job credits, exemptions on building materials sales tax, and property-tax abatement decisions handled by a zone administrator. Committee discussion noted the zone and enterprise zones are mutually exclusive (a project could not claim both sets of incentives) and that some questions about implementation remain.

Brian, a city staff member who led the presentation, said the city has been “qualified enough to go forward to the application process. So we’re not officially part of this yet. We have to fill out an application in order to be a part of it.” He described how the map was developed from the riverbank outward to include downtown properties and said the state gave some discretion in setting boundaries because LaSalle’s river configuration differs from other communities.

City Engineer Bridal Brown and staff said further work will be needed to define who would serve as the zone administrator and how property-tax abatements would be administered. Committee members asked staff to consult with other Illinois municipalities that have used the program, including Rockford and Peoria, to learn how incentives and tax abatements operated in practice for those jurisdictions.

Anna Covell of the Canal Corridor Association, speaking from the public, explained how Illinois historic tax credits typically work in tandem with development: “Normally how…the historic tax credits work is that you take after you renovate the building, there’s a value and you decrease it by the value at the beginning. And so that’s the amount of money or the…increment of the increase is what gets to…you get 25% or 20 or whatever the tax credit is for that particular…” She added that federal credits are available through the SHPO and National Park Service processes and that buildings in LaSalle’s historic district may qualify for both state and federal credits.

Committee members noted specific follow-ups before final City Council action: confirm whether property-tax abatement would require approval of other taxing districts, clarify how sales-tax exemptions apply (staff said exemptions generally cover materials purchased in Illinois for construction/rehab), and determine how the program would interact with existing TIF districts or an enterprise zone should the city use those tools. Members also discussed reaching out to other Illinois cities that have implemented river-front redevelopment incentives to gather practical examples.

The committee’s motion directed staff to complete the application process; the committee recorded three aye votes (Alderman LaViere, Alderman Jepsen and Chairman Patek). Committee members noted the application itself is the next step and that final designation would come only after state review.

Pending questions listed by staff included who the zone administrator would be, precise procedures for applying for property-tax abatements, interactions with TIF or enterprise-zone benefits, and whether the state’s historic and enterprise incentives could be layered with local policies. Staff said they would prepare additional detail for the City Council when the application is forwarded.