Macomb’s mayor says the state answered the city’s questions about STAR Bonds, and the city plans to take the next step toward applying for the program.
“All in all, it was a positive meeting,” said Mayor Mike Inman.
City officials met via Zoom on Tuesday with representatives from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which oversees the STAR Bonds program.
“I think we were given the information we needed to feel comfortable about moving forward with at least letting them know in writing of our intent to make a STAR Bond application,” Inman said.
He said that involves nothing more than an email from him to DCEO letting the agency know of the city’s interest. He said it does not commit the city to anything — it simply gets the city in the queue to start the process.
The city has until June to submit the notice of intent, and until January to formally apply.
The city would use the bonds to help pay for an indoor sports complex and family entertainment center. The city’s consultant on the project, Sports Facilities Companies, estimates a price tag of $58.4 million in development costs to build the facility.
The city believes the complex would attract youth sports tournaments and generate economic activity. Inman said the groundbreaking, should the city proceed with the project, probably would not happen until 2028.
The bonds are meant to encourage private development, and Inman said the city is still working to attract a private developer.
“We have some irons in the fire. Some of them are glowing hot. Some of them not so much,” Inman said. “We’re going to continue our due diligence there.”
STAR stands for sales tax and revenue bonds. They allow municipalities to finance major developments with government bonds up to $75 million and use sales tax revenue generated by the completed project to pay them back.
As part of the bond program, the city must create a STAR Bond district. At least half of the district needs to be in an underserved area. Inman said the city’s current proposed location sits just across the street from one of those areas.
“The STAR Bond district could be configured to allow us to meet that criteria,” Inman said. “We got some certain clarification on that.”
The city has not revealed its current proposed site, but Inman said there is a five-lane U.S. highway between the proposed site and the underserved area. He said the state told them that would not be a barrier.
The bond program also requires a capital investment of $30 million. In addition, the project must generate at least $60 million in annual gross sales and create 300 new jobs.
Inman said that during Tuesday’s meeting, the city learned it would have 15 years to meet the jobs requirement. He believes the city would meet that goal well in advance of the deadline.
The mayor said the city plans to hold a public forum, probably in late March, to share more information and take questions from the community.
He emphasized the city has not committed to anything yet.
“There continue to be offramps for this project should certain criteria not be met, the cost is well beyond our means, whatever the case may be,” Inman said. “And one of those offramps would be not being able to find a developer by the time the application needs to be submitted, and that would be January 1, 2027.”
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