Story posted Thursday, June 18, 2009
Is Condo Payout Worth It?
One Trustee Says Yes, The Other No
By CRAIG ADAMS Journal & Topics Reporter
With one trustee in dissent, the Wheeling Village Board approved the final payout of $387,984 to the developer of Prairie Parks Condominiums.
Mark Smith of Smith Family Construction, a Wheeling-based company, gained approval for his request at the meeting on Monday, June 15. Smith received $2.9 million from the village in 2003 before the project began after approaching Wheeling with a $9.7 million request, explained Trustee Dean Argiris. That first request and a second counter-offer of $7.5 million were denied before the board agreed to a $4.5 million payout. Smith received money from the village as he sold the condominiums. The money released on Monday represents the last of that payout, Argiris said.
Smith planned the project in phases and has constructed four of the five buildings but has not yet raised a clubhouse, an omission that riles Trustee Pat Horcher.
"Even before the economy tanked, Smith Construction was in violation of their agreement with Wheeling," Horcher wrote in an email. "It called for Smith construction to build a clubhouse as part of the development after the second building was complete. There are now four buildings up and no clubhouse."
However, Argiris believes the project is worth the extra money.
"He requested he could have early payment on that so he could have some working capital on his project over there," he said. "We want to continue to see that project move forward."
Argiris said Prairie Parks generates about $1.3 million in tax revenue each year compared with the $108,000 the site paid before the development. "If he does nothing else, that project will generate over 22 million dollars in TIF revenue," he said. Argiris added an additional $1.5 million, granted in 2006, was for the entranceway to the complex with the water feature.
Smith has about 80 vacant units in the project, an inventory that is affecting his cash flow. Horcher wants to see the units sold and occupied.
"If the bank takes them and sold them at auction, we would have residents in the units," he said. "An occupied unit pays more taxes than a vacant unit. The village of Wheeling would be ahead."
Argiris would rather see Smith carry over until the economy recovers and complete the complex.
"We need to keep that project going," he said. "A lot of people didn't have faith that he could do it." Argiris said the complex is built on undesirable property that was previously swampland. "Those buildings are built on pylons," he said. "He's proved everybody wrong."
Argiris also spoke of Smith's commitment to the village.
"He's a local guy, he's generous, he gives back to the community. When the library needed a garage for the bookmobile, he built that," Argiris said. "He's an asset and I wish we had a lot more of them."
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