Developer requests TIF support for upscale Winfield apartment project

A developer of a proposed apartment complex in Winfield is seeking an incentive package from the village to help make the project a reality.

Synergy Construction Group wants to build a 147-unit, upscale apartment complex dubbed “Winfield Reserve” within walking distance of Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital.

The Chicago-based firm also redeveloped the former Winfield Fuel & Material Co. property into the “Winfield Station” apartment complex south of the railroad tracks.

Synergy has plans for another “transit-oriented development” in downtown Winfield. The developer has indicated that the project will have an estimated cost of roughly $50 million, Winfield officials say.

The developer is eyeing what’s known as the Snyder office building and the adjacent Metra commuter lot. Village officials say they are working with the transit agency to do a property swap so the lot could be included in the development, giving Synergy a larger footprint.

The proposed incentive agreement for Synergy’s new luxury apartment complex includes the contribution of land — that Metra parcel — appraised at $930,000 and additional building project fee waivers totaling approximately $1.5 million.

The developer also has requested tax increment financing dollars. In a TIF district, as redevelopment boosts property values, the extra tax revenue that otherwise would go to taxing bodies such as schools and parks can be used to pay for improvements within its boundaries.

Specifically, the proposed agreement includes TIF increment created by the project capped at $4.7 million, plus interest — altogether projected to total $8.36 million during the years of the TIF 2 payback period.

“We can make use of some of those funds to help reimburse the developer for costs. This is the same thing we’ve done over at Winfield Station,” Village Manager Curt Barrett told Winfield trustees last week.

However, there is a pending lawsuit contesting the validity of the TIF district established by the village. In a draft term sheet, the village acknowledges that unless and until the lawsuit is resolved, the developer “will not be able to proceed with the project.”

“If it wasn't for this potential TIF support, we really can't attract capital to the project,” Synergy Principal Phil Domenico told the village board.

Interest rates and construction costs are higher, and lending requirements are “very tough,” Domenico said.

“A project of this scale takes about 18 months to build. It takes another 12 months to lease up,” he said. “So if you can think about that financing $50 million over approximately two and a half years is a really big ask, a big, heavy lift … the TIF helps us accomplish that goal.”

The U-shaped building would contain a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. The development also would have 6,000 square feet of amenity space.