Tax Increment Financing

The City of Chicago retained the planning consulting firm of Teska Associates, Inc. along with project team members The Architect's Enterprise, Ltd., and Valerie S. Kretchmer Associates, Inc., to assist the City in the creation of a tax increment financing (TIF) program for the Project Area. Teska and its project team members conducted field surveys, performed site evaluations, and identified redevelopment opportunities and necessary public improvements. The consultant team also documented the presence of age, dilapidation, deterioration of buildings and surface improvements, presence of structures below minimum code standards, excessive vacancies, and lack of community planning. This evidence allowed Teska to conclude that the Project Area meets the statutory requirements for a Conservation Area and should be designated as a tax increment financing district under the Illinois Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act, 65 ILCS 5/11-74.4-1, et seq., as amended (the "Act").