A 74-acre parcel on the southwest corner of the routes 12 and 120 intersection in Lakemoor will look dramatically different this fall, as infrastructure work of water and sanitary service lines will formally herald the start of the long-delayed Woodman’s Foods development. The Janesville-based company is already beginning to contract with businesses for outlot properties that will surround the 240,000-square foot commercial building.

“An environmental impact study was completed and forwarded to the Illinois Department of Transportation for permitting, and once we have it in hand, Woodman’s will close on the parcel,” said Lakemoor Mayor Todd Wiehofen. “The infrastructure will begin to be installed sometime in July, and a tentative timetable has been established to break ground later this year, with a 2018 opening date.”

Progress has been steady on planning with the commercial entity, despite a civil lawsuit attempting to derail the project over the village establishing the parcel, and an additional 40 area tract, as part of a tax-increment financing district. The action was filed by the Wauconda Unit School District 118 in February 2015, with the Wauconda Library District and Wauconda Township joining the litigation, the day after the village approved the site’s designation.

“As I understand it, for the lawsuit, it’s still ongoing with attorney status hearings, but we’re hopeful of a resolution soon,” Wiehofen said. “We have made several offers of settlement, which are more than these entities, and were rebuffed through their attorney. The village withdrew its most recent settlement offer, last Nov. 2, and the amazing thing is that in two years of litigation, Lakemoor has yet to give its deposition.”

The village’s efforts have maintained forward progress, formalizing a tax-incentive package that would provide up to $6 million to the woodman’s foods store over a 12-year period. The village board unanimously approved the measure during a December session. Approximately half of the collected sales tax revenues would be returned to Woodman’s two-thirds meant as a reimbursement for site improvements, and the remainder as an incentive.

The package intends that the reimbursement amount will not exceed $4 million, and $2 million would cap the incentive portion. The outlots are being groomed for a gas station with car wash, and oil-lube facility. Rebates begin with the village issuing a certificate of occupancy.

The Chicago-based firm of Knight Engineering Inc. completed the environmental impact study last Feb., and stormwater infrastructure work is tabbed to commence this July. The Northern Moraine Waste Water Reclamation District in Island Lake is providing the treatment and extension of sanitary service lines for the effluent of effluent water. The actual supply of water to the site will come directly from the Lakemoor plant.

The parcel is being administered for sale through Oakbrook-based IRC Retail Centers, formerly known as Inland Real Estate Corporation, which owns and operates high quality shopping centers throughout the central and southeastern states, and manages more than $3 billion in total assets.

The parcel itself was disputed as qualifying for a TIF-district, under the definition of blighted property, by the three governmental agencies. The school district mainly contested the TIF-district stating the site did not meet the criteria since it supported the agricultural and livestock trades for decades.

According to Illinois Department of Revenue guidelines, a TIF district effectively freezes the equalized assessed valuation on a property, for a period up to 23 years. Any taxes accrued above the stilted rate are placed in a fund for site improvements, such as infrastructure, as tool for commercial growth. All taxing entities that receive funds from the property tax allotments must agree to its establishment

The village countered that the property was prone to flooding, and met the threshold for the state rules as being “blighted,” and “unimproved.” The TIF-district financing is expected to pay for the infrastructure improvements to the site. An estimated $12 million cost for the improvements were being discussed as an even split between Woodman’s Foods and the Village of Lakemoor.

Lakemoor officials have alleged the civil suit was a mechanism to extract a larger share of the property tax valuations for the three entities. Wiehofen has said the matter would eventually be resolved when the development is in place, and that a solution is being sought. “It keeps getting delayed in court with status hearings, none of which makes any sense,” he said.

Requests for comment from Wauconda Unit School District 118 for this article were not returned. Attempts to reach Woodman’s Foods for comment were not returned at press time.