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Westlake shopping center attorney asks Peoria council to extend SSA to 2055, raise SSA sales tax 0.25%
Summary
At a Feb. 24 public hearing, counsel for Westlake Shopping Center asked the Peoria City Council to extend the Westlake Special Service Area to 2055 and increase the SSA sales tax by 0.25 percentage points to 1% to refinance projects and support a signed lease with a national tenant; council scheduled final action for March 10 after the owner submits a statutory waiver.
At a public hearing Feb. 24, Bob Hall, attorney for the Westlake Shopping Center, asked the Peoria City Council to extend the Westlake Special Service Area (SSA) to 2055 and increase the SSA sales tax rate by 0.25 percentage points — from 0.75% to 1.0% — to refinance SSA obligations and help finance tenant improvements.
Hall told the council the Westlake SSA has been in place since 2010 and that its self-imposed levies on property and sales have funded improvements including upgraded parking and building infrastructure. He said the requested 0.25 percentage-point increase would add 25 cents to a $100 purchase inside the SSA and bring Westlake’s rate into parity with other commercial SSAs in Peoria.
The attorney said the owner plans to refinance with a community bank and that finalizing the refinancing would allow the center to fulfill a signed lease with a national sporting-goods tenant. He also noted that additional tenants and the expected reopening of a Guitar Center location after water-line repairs would move the center toward full occupancy and boost SSA revenues.
Corporation Counsel Hayes reminded the council of a statutory 60-day waiting period after a public hearing before ordinances can be adopted, and said the property owner has agreed to provide a waiver of that period. Because of that waiver, Hayes and staff indicated the council could place final action on the March 10 agenda.
The mayor closed the hearing after public comment and the council unanimously voted to close the public hearing. No final ordinance was adopted at the Feb. 24 meeting; council members will consider the related ordinances at the March 10 meeting if the owner's waiver is received.
What happens next: the council expects the owner's waiver and plans to take final action on March 10 on ordinances to (1) extend the Westlake SSA to 2055 and (2) raise the Westlake SSA sales tax rate by 0.25 percentage points, if the waiver is filed.
