The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will award just one project in the West Central Region of its STAR bond program.
Macomb submitted its letter of intent late last month, ahead of the June 1 deadline. Macomb is seeking the designation as it considers whether to move ahead with an economic development project anchored by an indoor sports complex that would attract tournaments from around the region.
Mayor Mike Inman said the city is aware of one other proposal from the STAR Bond program's West Central Region.
“The city of Quincy is also applying for a STAR bonds district,” Inman said.
Like Macomb, Quincy is exploring the possibility of building an indoor sports complex. However, it’s not known if the city is seeking the STAR bond designation for that project.
Kristin Niemann, Quincy’s communication specialist, said the city must still identify its STAR bond district boundaries, developer, and project.
“We have held internal discussions to determine these details, but nothing decided yet,” she said in an email.
As for Macomb, Inman said the city continues working to find a master developer for its project. He said the city could own part of the project or be the anchor for the development, but the STAR bond incentive cannot go directly to the city — the program is designed to spur private economic development and a private entity would receive that incentive.
“We are continuing to have some very good discussions with two potential master developers. We intend to continue to have those conversations with them about trying to come together on an agreement,” Inman said.
He’s optimistic that things are moving in the right direction, but emphasized the city still has not committed to anything.
“There are several off-ramps still ahead of us that, if at the end of the day it’s not feasible, we’re not going to do it,” Inman said. “We do have some off-ramps that are available to us long before we commit to major amounts of money to the project.”
He said the bond program requires the city to hold a public hearing on the boundaries for its proposed STAR bond district. That forum has not been scheduled but must be held sometime before Jan 1.
Inman encourages those with questions about the project to contact his office.
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