Officials Extend Agreement for Lake, Lathrop Redevelopment in River Forest

River Forest officials on Monday agreed to extend its agreement with Keystone Ventures, firm charged with redeveloping the southwest corner of the Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue intersection, the Wednesday Journal reported Tuesday. 

The village in 2010 entered into an agreement with Keystone Ventures to commit $1.9 million in tax increment financing (TIF) funds for redevelopment projects at Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue, specifically the southwest corner of the intersection.

The monies would be used for property acquisition, environmental remediation and tenant acquisition incentives, according to a village staff memo. 

With the agreement set to expire Dec. 31, Keystone requested a one-year extension as it looks for redevelopment opportunities.

"Only until recently, the real estate market has started to rebound to the point where redevelopment opportunities are slowly starting to emerge," according to the village. 

If Keystone doesn't use the $1.9 million in TIF funds from a TIF that expired in 2010, the money would be distributed among local taxing bodies, according to the Journal. 

Read the full Wednesday Journal story here.