City of Wheaton To Begin Infrastructure Engineering and Design in City's Downtown

Wheaton, Ill.—At a Wheaton City Council planning session on June 22, 2016, City Manager, Michael Dzugan, presented the council with a plan for funding streetscape improvements in the city’s downtown.

Following the public unveiling of potential streetscape plans for downtown Wheaton in March of 2016—reported on by Nathan Lurz of mysuburbanlife.com—Dzugan and his staff worked to coordinate three more cost-effective development plans.

The recommended plan (see link to the official infrastructure plan below)—in collaboration with Design Workshop and CCS International Inc.—would cost an estimated $23 million.

According to the plan, the city will allocate that money, towards construction of festival and pedestrian-centered streets as well as towards a French Market and Park.

Liberty Drive between Cross and Main Streets on the city’s East Block will be a designated festival area, while a festival area on the city’s West Block, will be located on Liberty Drive between Hale and Main Street.

Construction of pedestrian streets will span the length of Cross, Hale, Wesley and Front Streets—downtown—as well as along most of Willow and Wheaton Avenue and Main Street from Wesley to Illinois.

Finally, the French Market and Park will both be located just south of the city’s train tracks and north of Liberty Street—the Park is located west of Main Street while the French Market is located east of Main Street.

Funding for the project—that the City of Wheaton official website confirms will begin in winter of this year—is to be aided by tax increment financing (TIF)—a financing structure, in which, the excess of all property taxes are used to fund infrastructure projects such as the one in downtown Wheaton.

For those expenses that TIF cannot cover, the plan suggests that the city borrow money from its general fund—paid back within two years—and potentially issue a 10-year, $5 million bond along with $1.2 million from the city’s Capital Projects Fund—a fund used for maintaining the city’s other means of revenue (road construction and sewer rehabilitation)—in order to cover the project’s remaining expenses.

When asked how these bonds would be paid back Dzugan said: “To pay back the principle and interest on the money the city would borrow—bonds—a revenue source would need to be looked at or existing operating expenses would have to be reduced.”

When asked how future projects would be affected by any outstanding loans from the infrastructure project, Dzugan replied: “Like most local governments, the City of Wheaton will be challenged in the years ahead of how to fund infrastructure whether that be roads, sidewalks, sewers, water, or storm water management.”

For Wheaton residents, this infrastructure plan will mean a local sales tax increase —up to 8.25%. Dzugan estimates that this tax increase will mean an increase in city revenue of $900,000 dollars.

Design and engineering for the project is set to be completed this winter. If all goes well, construction could begin late summer or fall of 2017.

To view the plan for Downtown Wheaton’s infrastructure visit: https://www.wheaton.il.us/government/documents.aspx?id=5435 (Agenda item # pso4)