Mayor: Plan would bring in millions

LOCKPORT WAREHOUSES

LOCKPORT -- The city, schools and other taxing districts together would reap millions of dollars in financial benefits from the warehouse and office complex planned for land at 143rd Street and the tollway, Mayor Tim Murphy said.

The proposal for the complex, by ML Realty Partners, has caused controversy, particularly because some buildings would be right next to Homer Glen's Stately Oaks subdivision.

And Lockport Alderman Pete Colarelli fought to delay council approval of the preliminary plan this month, arguing that the issue of tollway-area growth needs more study. Colarelli was unsuccessful, and the city council approved the preliminary plan.

This month, Murphy has made his case for the complex in two ways. First, he outlined the financial benefits. Then Wednesday, he clarified the opinions of a consultant hired by the city to study growth along the Interstate 355 tollway.

Murphy points to past and future benefits of the project:

• More than $1.6 million in tax revenues for area taxing districts when the buildings at the complex are only in shell form;

• About $3.2 million, annually, when the development is fully occupied;

• About $3.4 million used in 2005 for the Bonnie Brae wastewater treatment plant, plus more than $400,000 secured the following year; and

• $5.4 million in additional public improvements.

Regarding taxes, there would be an initial $1.6 million-plus in tax revenues for "shell completion" of the development, Murphy said. After that, local taxing districts would receive about twice that amount annually when the development reaches "stabilized buildout" status, within 12 to 18 months of final approval, he said.

The biggest beneficiaries would be schools -- Will County District 92 and Lockport Township High School, according to statistics that Murphy provided The Herald News.

District 92 would receive $1,363,171 yearly at buildout, Murphy said. The district operates Ludwig, Walsh, Reed and Oak Prairie schools in Lockport and Homer townships.

Next comes the high school, which would receive an annual $788,990, he said.

Murphy emphasizes that this tax revenue would come to both districts from a development that adds no student enrollment to either district. And the revenue would come at a time when the high school has proposed three referendum measures since 2006 to confront area growth -- and faced voter rejection each time.

The city of Lockport is No. 3 on the list, poised to receive about $300,000 annually at stabilized buildout, Murphy said.

After that, the list follows:

• Will County: $232,624 (numbers are annual figures at stabilized buildout);

• Northwest Homer Fire Protection District: $164,415;

• Joliet Junior College district: $89,588;

• Homer Township roads: $71,911;

• Homer Township town fund: $65,942;

• Will County Forest Preserve District: $63,350;

• Homer Glen road and bridge fund: $60,250;

• Homer Township Public Library: $56,177; and

• Will County Building Commission: $5,876.

There is much more, Murphy said.

The city has received funding for improvements to the Bonnie Brae treatment plant on Earl Street -- which was critical for Lockport's expansion, Murphy said.

The 2001 annexation agreement for the land at 143rd Street required the property owner to advance funds in order for Lockport to perform infrastructure improvements to serve this site with water and sewer services, according to a memo by City Attorney Ron Caneva.

The owner has paid the city $3.4 million for such improvements, and the city used the money in 2005 to upgrade the Bonnie Brae treatment plant, Caneva said in the memo.

In 2006, when 36 additional acres were annexed, the agreement called for an additional $406,000 to the city from the owner.

The property owner does receive some money back on this total of $3.8 million. The developer would get back two-thirds of tap-on fees, with the city receiving one-third of the fees, among other provisions in the agreement. But the development must occur by 2021 for this agreement to be valid.

Finally, the city is receiving more than $5.4 million in public improvements at essentially no cost to the taxpayers, Murphy said.

Those improvements include development of Gougar Road, with construction of sidewalks; improvement of 147th Street, including curb, gutter and sidewalks; installation of a stoplight at Gougar and 147th when warranted; construction of a 10-foot-wide bike path; and improvement of the 143rd Street intersection at the complex entrance.

Earlier this month, Colarelli wanted to delay a vote on the project until the city's consultant completes a study of growth in the I-355 corridor.

However, Murphy has said the 143rd Street project would not be a part of that study, as the land already is annexed and zoned.

At Wednesday's city council meeting, Murphy and city staff presented a memo from consultant John Houseal, president of Houseal Lavigne Associates in Naperville.

The memo affirmed Murphy's previous statements: The study will not make land-use recommendations for properties that already are entitled through a pre-existing or "in-process" annexation or development agreement.

That includes business-park proposals for tollway-area properties at 143rd and 163rd streets, Murphy said.