In 2012, Teska Associates led a consulting team to work with the Village of Lake Villa to develop a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plan which created an economic development strategy for the downtown business district. One of the key recommendations in the plan was to create incentives for public private partnerships to support economic development.
In 2015-2016 Teska led two parallel efforts to put in place a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District and Business District to implement the recommendations in the Plan. The goal of the Downtown TIF is to support private investment in the downtown commercial district and nearby industrial park. Various development sites have been identified including the 60-plus acre Sherwood Park property located on Cedar Lake, which has been vacant since the privately-owned park closed in 1991 as well as opportunities for redevelopment of older buildings in the downtown.
Teska also worked with the Village to create a Downtown Business District to expand the financial incentives to raise funds for matching grants, support private investment, and make public improvements to the downtown.
