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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: David Dibo, Director Mayor's Office of Economic Development
DATE: April 30, 2021
SUBJECT:
A Resolution Authorizing the Execution of a Redevelopment Agreement Between the City of Aurora and Magick Woods, a Business Located at 1600 Sequoia Drive, to Facilitate the Company's Expansion and Long-Term Commitment to Maintaining Operations in the City of Aurora.
PURPOSE:
To retain a major manufacturing business within the City limits of the City of Aurora.
BACKGROUND:
Jones Lang LaSalle representing Magick Woods, a manufacturer supplying kitchen and bathroom cabinets to Home Depot and Lowe's, approached Invest Aurora seeking relief from real estate taxes as part of an incentive package the company was evaluating to remain and expand in Aurora or relocate to North Carolina. The expansion would assure the addition of 50 high paying new jobs added to the 90 currently in place. Magick Woods was working with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for an EDGE grant that when completed would assure the company's presence in Aurora for at least the next 10 years. Jones Lang indicated that relatively high real estate taxes was an impediment to the deal moving forward and asked COA for assistance. The obvious challenge was providing some measure of help given that real estate assessments are not in the City of Aurora's purview. The city share of real estate taxes is about 20% of the total and school district 129, the majority recipient of property tax revenues was not able to participate. Despite these impediments, COA agreed to facilitate working closely with Invest Aurora as collective research concurred with Magick Woods' determination that taxes were above market and keeping this longstanding expanding business in Aurora was a high priority.
DISCUSSION:
After investigating several avenues, Invest Aurora and COA decided to work on a two-pronged approach. The first was to evaluate the likelihood that real estate...
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