Before Anything Rises at Lincolnwood Town Center, the Village Has to Decide How to Pay for It

On Tuesday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m., the Lincolnwood Village Board will hold a public hearing at Village Hall, 6900 North Lincoln Avenue, on a proposed Tax Increment Financing district built around the former Lincolnwood Town Center. Most public attention has gone to the unnamed discount retailer and the car dealership. For 23 years, the TIF would determine how much of the property tax collected from this corner goes to the school districts, the park district and the Village, and how much stays inside the district to pay for redevelopment.

The value that split is based on gets locked close to the area's lowest value in five years. For anyone comparing Lincolnwood with Skokie or Evanston this fall, the store at Touhy and McCormick is still a proposal. The tax structure underneath it is about to become law.

What Is Actually on the Site This Week

The mall officially closed on July 23, more than 36 years after it opened on March 15, 1990, Nadig Newspapers reported in August. Demolition of the former Harlem Furniture building near McCormick Boulevard started June 25. The next phase, covering the glass atrium along Touhy, was scheduled for August once the last tenants were gone. Kohl's is set for the third and final phase. Until then it keeps running, and its store page lists hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The proposed land uses are written in a pre-development agreement. It describes a large-format discount store of roughly 150,000 to 175,000 square feet on 20 to 25 acres, an automobile dealership on 5 to 6 acres, and additional commercial and retail space. Nadig noted that no store name has been released. It also reported that a Walmart Supercenter already sits across Touhy in Skokie and that Target said it has no plans for a store there.

The Calendar That Matters More Than the Tenant

The Village's TIF consultant, Ryan LLC, laid out the approval path in a draft TIF plan and eligibility report presented to the Board in August.

1. September 15, 2026. The Board approved the ordinance setting the hearing date.
2. October 8, 2026. The Joint Review Board met with 6 of its 7 taxing districts present and approved a resolution and recommendation on the proposed district.
3. November 17, 2026. Public hearing. The Board can continue the hearing to a later date without publishing a new notice.
4. January 5, 2027. This is when the Board is expected to vote on the ordinances. State law requires that vote to come 14 to 90 days after the hearing closes.

The Joint Review Board has no further role before the ordinances come up, according to an October 20 staff memo. In practice, the hearing is the last public step before the vote.

The Number Being Frozen

As the Village's TIF plan describes it, a TIF works by freezing the equalized assessed value, or EAV, of every parcel in the district on the day it is created. The overlapping taxing bodies keep collecting, but only on that frozen value. Property tax from any growth above it goes into a special fund that pays for redevelopment inside the district.

So the starting value matters. Here is what the district's EAV did over the five years the Village studied, next to the rest of Lincolnwood.

From tax year 2020 to 2024, the district area lost about 11 percent of its assessed value, while the rest of the village gained about 15 percent. The area's share of Lincolnwood's total EAV dropped from roughly 12 percent to roughly 9.5 percent. The proposed base is about $78.3 million, taken from 2024 data, and will be certified when the district is created. The plan says it will be updated to 2025 figures once those are available.

The plan projects the area's EAV will climb to between $105 million and $120 million over the district's 23-year life. Until the district expires, the property tax generated by value above the frozen base goes to the TIF fund instead of to the schools or the parks. The Village uses this same logic to argue that a TIF is needed in the first place. The plan concludes that without one, the area would not be redeveloped in a coordinated way.

What the District Covers and What It Could Pay For

The proposed district is larger than the mall. It covers about 120 acres, 62 tax parcels and 29 structures. More than half of the buildings are over 35 years old. It reaches north to the parcels along Touhy, east toward McCormick Boulevard, and west to parcels near Lawndale Avenue, including commercial and municipal property around the Union Pacific Trail.

The estimated budget is $80 million, divided among these categories:

• Rehabilitation of existing structures: $17.5 million
• Land acquisition, assembly and relocation: $15 million
• Site preparation and demolition, including environmental remediation: $15 million
• Public improvements such as utilities, roads, stormwater and streetscape: $15 million
• Finance costs: $9 million
• Other eligible costs: $5 million
• Professional services: $3 million
• Job training: $500,000

Lincolnwood has used this tool before. The North Lincoln TIF, created in 2019, funded District 1860, and incentive notes there are repaid from the development's own property tax growth. The Devon/Lincoln TIF from 2014 is currently paying for the Devon Avenue streetscape. The Northeast Industrial TIF ran from 1996 to 2020, and its remaining funds are set to be distributed in 2026.

The Agreement Behind the Store Is Nonbinding

The Village adopted an ordinance on April 21 that set out three demolition phases. Officials called it a "nonbinding roadmap," and either side can leave at any time, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The ordinance does set deadlines. The developer must apply for final zoning approval by November and get a building permit for the large retailer by April 2027. It must also post $1.5 million in letters of credit or cash deposits as construction proceeds. The Sun-Times also reported that the ordinance exempts the developer from the usual requirement to build on or restore a site right after demolition.

The TIF ordinances could pass in January. The retailer's building permit isn't due until April. The financing framework is scheduled to be finished before any building permit for the retailer is due.

The Gap the Village Is Covering Until Then

The empty mall is already costing the Village money. At a mid-year review, Lincolnwood's finance director projected a $620,000 shortfall in FY2026 sales tax against budget, caused by the Town Center closures. Hotel tax from District 1860 also hadn't started coming in because the hotel's opening was delayed, and trustees urged conservative budgeting given the uncertainty, according to minutes in the October 5 Finance Committee packet. A village that depends heavily on retail sales tax has a clear reason to want the site rebuilt soon. That helps explain why the TIF is moving on a fixed schedule while the tenant remains unnamed.

The Residential Question Inside the Boundary

The October 8 meeting surfaced an issue a buyer might not expect. According to the October 20 memo, School District 74 Superintendent David Russo said the district supports the redevelopment and the TIF, provided talks continue. At SD74's request, the Village agreed to discuss how residential development inside the boundary could affect the district. The mall proposal itself includes no housing. However, some other properties inside the boundary, now zoned M-B, could become eligible for residential use under the plan if they are rezoned.

The plan's list of possible land uses does include residential. It also states that the Village will not displace ten or more residential units and that the area has fewer than 75 inhabited units, so no housing impact study is required. A study would become necessary if either of those conditions changes later. For buyers looking at homes near the Union Pacific Trail or east toward McCormick, the area's future depends on zoning decisions made after January, not just on the mall site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can residents comment at the November 17 hearing? Yes. The Village's Town Center FAQ says any new development requires a public hearing process and Board approval, with notice given so the public can weigh in. The TIF hearing notice went by certified mail to the affected taxing districts and other interested parties.

Is the big-box store approved? No. The use is described in a nonbinding pre-development agreement. Any project still needs a public hearing and a Board vote, and no retailer has been named.

Is Kohl's closing? Kohl's is in the last demolition phase and is open with regular hours. No closing date has been announced.

The information above is general and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Please check how a TIF or a reassessment affects your own property with your attorney or tax professional.

If you own a home near Touhy and McCormick and want to know how a site between demolition and a January vote affects your sale price, Victoria Stein can prepare a valuation that factors in the redevelopment timeline. Request a Home Valuation before the November 17 hearing.