New development is expected to come to Sugar Grove within the next decade. However, many residents have expressed their concerns about the project and the effects it could have on the community.
Crown Community Development owns approximately 760 acres of land at the interchange of I-88 and Rt. 47. In 2019, Crown submitted a plan that asked for 8 million square feet of the land to be turned into warehouses, but there was public opposition, which led to Crown withdrawing their plan and disconnecting the property from Sugar Grove.
“I was adamantly opposed to 8 million square feet,” Sugar Grove Village President Jennifer Konen said.
Before becoming village president, Konen ran for village trustee in 2019 because of this development plan.
In February of 2023, Crown unveiled a new development plan on their website, which included a town center and commercial, retail, office, civic and residential space along with warehouses. According to Crown, the heart of the project is the town center, which would promote community engagement and serve as a place for a future village hall.
Konen is enthusiastic about this new plan because it would bring Crown’s land back into incorporated limits.
“We don’t have those [shops and restaurants] for our youth, and we don’t have those places for us as adults… In order to get that development, we need more residential and commercial space and a place to patronize. Also, as a community, we are looking for the amenity component,” Konen said.
Crown Development is asking for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to fund the project. A TIF is a special funding tool that helps fund an area of land to be developed or redeveloped. When a TIF is signed, taxes for that property or district are frozen. This means that as a development grows and taxes for the district increase, that increase or tax increment is diverted to a special fund to pay for the development. Because the tax increment is diverted to fund the development, local taxing bodies will not see an increase in revenue. According to Illinois’ guidelines for TIFs, this tax diversion would take place for 23 years.
Many people, including Kaneland High School Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction Nathan Schroll, are concerned for local taxing bodies like the school district.
“It bothers me very much that there is a TIF proposed in this deal. That would exclude schools [and other municipalities] for four generations,” Schroll said.
However, Konen explained that the village is creating ways to ensure that money flows to the school district, even with a TIF.
“There is money that’s flowing out for any child that gets produced within a TIF district,” Konen said. “Besides that, there would be revenue that flows to the school district through permit fees, and there would also be revenue generated for them through surpluses.”
Elburn Village Trustee Patricia Schuberg, who was previously on the planning commission for 15 years and has now served for 10 years as a trustee, says she has seen many developers come to Elburn requesting a TIF. She says that Elburn has taken a stance against them.
“We have not entertained TIFs because development should pay for itself. It shouldn’t be on the back of taxpayers,” Schuberg said.
According to Crown, they are requesting a TIF to help pay for costs associated with the project. Konen explained that in any development, utilities like water, sewer, roads and infrastructure must be near the property. Crown, however, needs to bring these utilities even closer to the property.
“The costs to do that are more than the revenue they are going to generate,” Konen said.
While a TIF has yet to be approved, Crown has plans to petition for one.
Another concern amongst residents has been the warehouses that would be located north of I-88 and east of Rt. 47. While the current plan contains significantly fewer warehouses than the plan submitted in 2019, residents are still concerned about the truck traffic and pollution that warehouses may cause.
Jaden Chada of Blackberry Township lives off of Main St. and Green Rd., which is near the planned development. Chada has been vocal about the project, with his major concerns being the TIF and warehouse proposal.
“I don’t see why they need the industry because across the country, [Crown] is known for residential,” Chada said.
Konen said that Crown needs to offset the residential development with the industrial development. The industrial development includes data, manufacturing and/or distribution centers.
Schuberg described how the increase in truck traffic would directly affect Elburn.
“It’s not just the amount of trucks, it’s the wear and tear of our roads,” Schuberg said.
She also mentioned that more trucks could take away from the walkability of the community.
However, Crown believes that truck trips would only increase “by approximately 3% as compared to existing conditions.”
Konen knows that the village is trying to mitigate this issue by placing special zoning classifications for businesses that would bring in substantial amounts of truck traffic.
Residents living on unincorporated land also have concerns about toxic chemicals from warehouses damaging water quality. These residents rely on well water and a septic system.
Konen understands that residents are concerned about the unknown but is trying to think in preventative ways. She does not believe that the warehouses will pollute any well water.
“The water that would be used for this development would be pumped from existing wells from within the village of Sugar Grove,” Konen said. “If they ever do need an existing or new well, they would build a new well on the deep aquifer, not the shallow (which unincorporated residents operate on).”
The next step in the project will be for Crown to submit their zoning and annexation requests, along with the proposal for a TIF agreement.
“The goal of the developer, if the stars align, would be maybe approval in March or April,” Konen said, but there will also be public hearings that will have to take place. Konen does not anticipate any public hearings by the end of 2023.
