Village Board Approves Incentive Agreement for Redevelopment of Former Lowe's Site to Facilitate a Cooper's Hawk

On Monday, April 12th, the Village Board approved an incentive agreement with the site developer at the former Lowe's site to redevelop an outlot for a Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant. The former Lowe's building, which was purchased by the College of Lake County in 2020, will be converted in to a state-of-the-art Advanced Technology Center (ATC) for instruction in automation, robotics and mechatronics, computer numerical control (CNC), welding and industrial maintenance.

The agreement is structured to facilitate a minimum 15-year lease to Cooper's Hawk for the outlot in the northwest corner of the parking lot. The total project investment is anticipated to be $7.5M. The agreement includes a direct contribution to the developer of $600,000 upon completion of construction of the site and the open of Cooper's Hawk. Upon opening, a sales tax rebate of 100% of the state shared sales tax and 50% of the Village's 1% home rule sales tax will be rebated up to $900,000 for a total contribution of $1.5M to facilitate the development. The Village will keep 100% of the 1% food & beverage sales tax and 50% of the 1% home rule sales tax. Projections indicate that the initial $600,000 will be recouped within 4-5 years of Cooper's Hawk operating.

A presentation from the meeting highlighting the agreement and deal is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RKHp31LCgo