* The Loyola TIF Report

by Hugh

The most significant thing that happened last night was that a pledge to the community was broken. When the Devon-Sheridan TIF was pitched to the neighborhood, we were told there were no plans, no developers had been named, nothing would happen without community meetings. Last night was that community meeting. Unfortunately, it came well AFTER a redevelopment plan was passed by the Community development Commission (9/12/05) and was introduced to the Chicago City Council.

Reading the CDC agendas online is not the best way for us to find out about such things, not the best way to foster public support for a transfer of millions of dollars of public money to a private interest.

And the inaugural project of the Loyola TIF? A $20M property taxpayer-funded subsidy to rehab a tax-exempt private property, a boat anchor of a building Loyola bought from the nuns of the BVM in 1991, apparently without a professional appraisal: the Mundelein Center.

The next most significant thing that happened last night was that, for the first time, in front of the community, Loyola came out of the closet as a real estate developer. When the Devon-Sheridan TIF was pitched to the neighborhood, under repeated questioning we were told we were told over and over again that there were no plans, no developers had been named, don't worry, nothing would happen without community meetings. Loyola announced that they intended to serve as master developer for the Loyola TIF.

Loyola also announced that they had purchased the gas station on the northeast corner of Albion and Sheridan, and would raze the building and "fence in and secure the property" this week. They made it sound like the gas station that has been there since the earth cooled is suddenly a safety hazard. In fact, Loyola is merely doing what they have been doing for years to properties they own in east Rogers Park: their motivation is to reduce their property tax burden by reassessing this choice N Sheridan road lot in an RT4 district as vacant as soon as possible. There are no plans to develop the property. Another taxable property in in east Rogers Park becomes tax-exempt. Another business becomes a vacant lot. So far, we are still going backwards in terms of the Loyola TIF's enhancement of our tax base, and we will see no benefit for at least 24 years.

As Loyola revealed themselves as a real estate developer, they also revealed themselves as the lowest form of real estate developer: the bottom-feeders who create "blight," secure property tax subsidies, and then rush in as the solution to the "blight."

Loyola is no more a good neighbor than Peter Palivos.