Aledo Downtown - 2022 TIF District

The City of Aledo established a Redevelopment Project Area and adopted a Redevelopment Plan and Projects pursuant to the Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act [65 ILCS 5/11-74.4 et. seq.] (the “Act”) for the “Aledo Downtown-2022 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District” in order to stimulate commercial, light industrial and residential development within the City.  The intent of the Redevelopment Plan is to promote and protect the health, safety, morals, and welfare of the public, address blighted conditions in the proposed Area and institute conservation measures so as to remove and alleviate adverse conditions, encourage private investment, develop business and real estate projects to increase employment and restore and enhance the tax base of the taxing districts by undertaking public and private redevelopment projects within a designated Area. 

Click here to view the Redevelopment Plan and Projects Area

Click here to view the Aledo 2022 TIF District Boundary Map

The Redevelopment Project Area (the “Area”) for the Aledo Downtown-2022 TIF District includes areas shown on the Boundary Map and legally described in the Legal Description of the TIF Area. These properties have been neglected and have not benefitted from coordinated planning efforts by either public or private sectors. All properties within the proposed Area would substantially benefit by a series of proposed public and private redevelopment projects. Pursuant to the Act, the proposed Area includes only those contiguous parcels of real property and improvements thereon which would be substantially benefitted by a redevelopment project and the Area is not less in the aggregate than 1½ acres.

The overall Area consists of 526 improved and vacant parcels that were surveyed 86.9% of which qualify as a combination of “Blighted” and “Conservation” Areas, as defined in the TIF Act. Improved properties included in the Area display characteristics of age, dilapidation, obsolescence, deterioration, municipal code violations, excessive vacancy, inadequate utilities, overcrowding, and a lack of public infrastructure and community planning. Vacant parcels throughout the Area display characteristics of obsolete platting, tax delinquencies, deterioration of adjacent properties, contributing to flooding within the same watershed and being blighted before becoming vacant. Evidence of a lack of growth in Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) is apparent throughout the Area as a whole and has been documented pursuant to data from Mercer County. 

The Redevelopment Project Area on the whole has not been subject to growth and development through investment by private enterprise and would not reasonably be anticipated to be developed without the use of tax increment financing. By attracting new private investment and improving infrastructure throughout a designated Redevelopment Project Area, the City expects to create new employment opportunities, expand the City’s retail base for current and future residents, increase the real estate tax assessment base within the Area and stimulate the local economy and improve the overall quality of life for its residents.

The City established the Aledo Downtown-2022 TIF District by assisting in the redevelopment of property that is currently underutilized for light industry, commercial space, retail businesses, tourism-related activities, and residential development to increase population, improve employment opportunities, expand and diversify the local real estate tax base, manage growth an increase the overall quality of life for its residents. The Redevelopment Plan will allow the City to alleviate and/or remove blighted conditions such as the lack of adequate public infrastructure, increase Aledo’s overall competitiveness in the region and institute public policies that are more conducive to business development. The property within the Redevelopment Project Area will substantially benefit by a series of public and private redevelopment projects made possible with tax increment financing.  The Redevelopment Project Area is not otherwise reasonably expected to be substantially improved or be further developed without the use of tax increment financing. 

The Aledo Downtown-2022 TIF District Redevelopment Plan is expected to include, but is not limited to, the following general long-term goals and objectives:

1.    Eliminate or reduce those conditions which qualify the Redevelopment Project Area as a Combination of Blighted and Conservation Areas.

2.    Facilitate the construction, improvement and maintenance of public infrastructure, environmental remediation, and other capital projects which the City finds is in furtherance of the Redevelopment Plan and necessary to encourage new light industrial, residential and commercial development.

3.    Construct, improve, upgrade and maintain storm water drainage and sanitary sewer lines and related infrastructure throughout the Redevelopment Project Area.

4.    Construct, improve, upgrade and maintain antiquated and/or inadequate water lines and mains, as well as water storage facilities and related distribution systems.

5.    Construct, improve, upgrade and maintain streets, amenities relating to information technology, street lighting, landscaping, curbs, alleys, parks, public green space, recreational amenities, sidewalks, bike paths and other pedestrian walkways throughout the Redevelopment Project Area.

6.    Encourage residential rehabilitation/renovation projects within the Redevelopment Project Area using financial incentives offered by tax increment financing.

7.    Encourage private investment for commercial rehabilitation/renovation projects to be undertaken on existing structures within the Redevelopment Project Area through the use of financial incentives offered by tax increment financing.

8.    Enhance the tax base for the City and other taxing districts through coordinated, comprehensive planning efforts by either the public or private sectors to improve infrastructure, encourage property reuse, and the upgrade of existing buildings.

9.    Foster entrepreneurship and attract new commercial and light industrial development which complies with City zoning and land use ordinances, increases assessed valuations and enhances the real estate tax base for the City, thereby also creating additional employment opportunities within the Aledo community.

10.    Encourage new residential development which will thereby help to adequately increase the City's population, maintain a high-quality housing stock, expand the overall tax base of the community, maintain/regenerate local school enrollments, and raise local economic thresholds to levels necessary to support new commercial retail development.

11.    Encourage and continue the development of additional, new residential choices for retired persons and elderly residents over the next 20 years.

12.    Attract tourism and new retail/commercial businesses while also vigorously reinvesting in existing properties within the redevelopment project area to encourage business retention and increase retail business activity that will generate new local retail sales tax revenue for the City, other taxing bodies and the State of Illinois.

13.    Implement the goals and objectives of the City's Comprehensive Plan as a approved in 1981, restates in 2001, and further referenced in Section I of the Redevelopment Plan to provide policy guidelines for land use, planning, zoning, transportation, housing, municipal growth, quality of life and related issues.

14.    Implement the goals and objectives of the City's 2016 Strategic Economic Development Plan, which is further referenced in Section I of the Redevelopment Plan.

15.    Undertake redevelopment projects which will further improve the overall quality of life, health and well-being of the Aledo community.