Community Development Commission

The Community Development Commission advanced a Tax Increment Financing district for the Washington Park community with no discussion or opposition on Tuesday despite objections from several outspoken neighborhood residents.

If approved by the City Council, a portion of property taxes collected in the district would be reserved for city-picked economic development projects within its borders. The proposed 988-acre TIF area spans all of Washington Park itself and also includes 631 acres of land just south and west of the park.

A city panel unanimously approved Tuesday putting $10 million in Tax Increment Financing money toward a proposed digital manufacturing technology research center at Goose Island, a facility city officials hope will help catalyze Chicago’s tech economy.

The Chicago Community Development Commission on Tuesday approved providing $4.6 million in Tax Increment Financing money to Swedish Covenant Hospital on the city's Northwest Side for the construction of a women’s health center and renovations of emergency facilities.

At last month’s CDC meeting, commissioners green lighted the creation of the Foster/California TIF district, a special property taxing area concocted solely to generate funds to cover improvements of the 128 year-old nonprofit hospital.

Chicago’s Community Development Commission has approved an extension of the lifespan of the Michigan/Cermak Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Project Area.

The commission at its Tuesday meeting passed an amendment to the redevelopment plan for the area that adds 12 years to the life of the TIF, extending it to 35 years. Tricia Marino Ruffolo of the Department of Housing and Economic Development said the Michigan/Cermak TIF was designated in September 1989 to rehabilitate key structures that were in critical condition. The TIF was originally set to expire on December 31, 2013.

The Community Development Commission on Tuesday approved the sale of city-owned property to a developer that will create 71 mixed-income housing units on the former site of the Robert Taylor Homes in Bronzeville.

Under the Chicago Housing Authority’s Plan for Transformation, four new developments – Hansbury Square, Savoy Square, Coleman Place and Mahalia Place – have been constructed since 2000 to replace the Robert Taylor site.

The commission’s action on Tuesday paves the way for the fifth phase of the redevelopment project, dubbed Legends South.