Naperville man fighting sales tax in Block 59 small business district collects opposition petition signatures – Chicago Tribune

A Naperville man opposed to adding a 1% sales tax to corporations in the Route 59 purchasing, dining and entertainment district is enlisting the Naperville neighborhood to join his fight.

Basim Esmail is anticipated to present his Adjust.Org petition, “Oppose Providing $18.7 Million in Naperville Tax Funds to a Billion Dollar Wall Street Corporation,” with extra than 1,500 signatures, to the Naperville City Council on Tuesday.

The council is set to vote on plans submitted by home owner Brickmore Home Group to redevelop the northeast corner of Route 59 and Aurora Avenue into Block 59, a regional luxury dining and entertainment location.

Along with the plans, the Council will take into account an ordinance establishing the parameters of a small business district via which a 1% sales tax will be collected to fund infrastructure improvements required for the Block 59 project.

The tax would only apply to sales at corporations positioned in the new Block 59 (the former web-site of Heritage Square) and Westridge Court purchasing center properties along Aurora Avenue.

To make sure that Brickmore continues to operate, the corporation will not get any tax revenue till the 50,000-square-foot web-site and public improvements are completed and authorized by city employees, a certificate of occupancy is issued for at least one particular of the new buildings, and the space for public events is completed and open to the public.

The small business district sales tax is a tool the state offers to communities to enable revitalize aging and blighted places.

Esmail stated he was fine with the Block 59 project it is a sales tax that applies to any element of Westridge Court that is objected to.

Brickmore is a large corporation that can afford to spend for its personal renovation, he stated, and there is no have to have to add sales taxes to consumers.

Brickmore owns and operates 373 retail centers comprising roughly 66 million square feet of retail space, according to the company’s site.

Esmail disputes Brickmore’s assessment that Westridge Court has a vacancy issue, which is one particular of the factors the corporation cited in its application for the small business district.

At the January 18 council meeting, Andrew Balzer, Brickmore’s home director, stated 35% of Westridge Court was vacant as had been almost all of Heritage Court’s storefronts.

Esmail stated his calculations show that 99.six% of the southeast portion of Westridge Court to be incorporated in the small business district is occupied and as a result really should not qualify for inclusion.

Brickmore officials argue that the corporation would not be capable to gather sufficient from the 1% sales tax to cover infrastructure improvements more than a 23-year timeframe if only the Block 59 location was incorporated in the small business district.

subaker@tribpub.com