We have experience drafting and negotiating redevelopment agreements covering all types of projects, including downtown redevelopments, town center developments, mixed-use developments, transit-oriented developments, commercial and industrial office parks, residential planned developments, and Enterprise Zones.

Our TIF services run the gamut, from the creation and administration of TIF districts to statutory compliance matters. Depending on the nature of the development and improvements to be supported with public assistance, we have helped clients create special service areas and business development districts. In the past, special service areas became the scourge of homeowners due to overuse and misleading marketing. More recently, we have worked with communities to more equitably distribute the true cost of public improvements without saddling residents with excessive property tax burdens. Business districts are being recognized as an effective economic development tool for commercial developments which result in less intergovernmental tension. Regardless of the tool that best fits your plan, our expertise will ensure all procedural and substantive requirements are satisfied so that your goals are accomplished.

We also assist with a wide array of debt-issuance transactions, ranging from straightforward general obligation bonds to financings secured by TIF districts, special service areas, special assessments and business development districts. Our attorneys also advise public and private clients regarding the use of tax abatements and sales tax rebates, including the important distinctions between home rule and non-home rule communities, and have been involved in the following projects recently:

Assist in the establishment of TIF districts, special service areas, and business development and redevelopment districts.
Creation of TIF district for office campus headquarters of an international corporation.
Create a Business Redevelopment District for a 600,000 sq. ft. retail center.
Negotiate a public/private agreement for sale and development of land in TIF District.
Assist with the creation of a public-private partnership to reclaim and plan uses of 100 year old quarry, including pioneering land-use regulations on reclamation, master plan for properties, and coordination of property transfers and uses.
Defend municipality against lawsuit seeking to invalidate TIF district.

For more information about economic development, access our Economic Development Handbook in the Resource Center.