North Chicago adopts development pact for Sheridan Crossing

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Updated: April 18, 2012 1:52AM

The North Chicago City Council has approved a master development agreement for Sheridan Crossing, a 40-acre parcel at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Sheridan Road, just west of Naval Station Great Lakes.

The decision made good on a letter of intent the city signed a year ago that named Pennsylvania-based Weston Solutions as its development partner for the shovel-ready property — the former site of the commercial “Strip” and Fansteel and Lavin metal refineries.

Under the terms of the agreement, the city will monitor and approve proposed plans for the property. Weston, which specializes in environmental restoration and property redevelopment, will oversee the $96 million project that will include 300,000 square feet of construction for office, hotel, retail, restaurant, grocery, banking, sports facilities and related infrastructure.

Business along the former Strip, once lined with taverns, liquor stores and strip joints, stagnated after the Navy closed its nearby Gate 4 in 1990, around the same time the two refineries went bankrupt and closed. The city eventually issued bonds, bought the acreage, demolished the remaining buildings and invested in environmental cleanup.

But after the economy went south, the city couldn’t attract a developer.

“Weston came in and believed in us, that if we worked in partnership we could get it done,” Mayor Leon Rockingham said after a 5-1 vote at Monday night’s City Council meeting. “This master agreement brings us one step closer.”

In a financial arrangement termed a “waterfall distribution,” initial proceeds from Sheridan Crossing will go to reimburse Weston for authorized upfront costs of the development, then to the city, which will recoup up to $300,000 in upfront expenses. The partners will then split remaining distributions, with the city receiving 60 percent to Weston’s 40 percent.

“I hope they make a lot of money on the development because if they make a lot of money, we’ll make a lot of money,” Rockingham said. “And we’ll be bringing in things our city is so desperate for.”

Financial incentives for Sheridan Crossing include a TIF-district, Enterprise Zone and government-issued disaster bonds that can be used to secure up to $75 million in private, tax-exempt financing.

Third Ward Ald. Valerie DeVost stressed the agreement’s provision that Weston commit to “recruit qualified residents” and “hire qualified contractors” based in North Chicago for goods and services for the project.

“This company wants to come in and give our community a chance to grow,” said DeVost, who cited a local unemployment rate of 19 percent. “We need to welcome Sheridan Crossing, encourage it and support it, because it belongs to us.”

DeVost said that 150 local jobs could result from the redevelopment.

Joe Napolitano, the city’s director of economic development, said the city will keep a database of North Chicago contractors and laborers and other people interested in working at businesses that open at Sheridan Crossing.

“We’re going to solicit that information from the community and work-in job training programs to assist our residents so they can be the first ones considered for jobs as they become available,” Napolitano said.