$32M industrial development coming to border of Elgin, Sleepy Hollow

A new $32 million industrial distribution facility will come to the far northwest side of what is now considered Elgin following an agreement with neighboring Sleepy Hollow approved Wednesday night.

The site is currently home to six single-family properties that sit in an unincorporated area between Elgin and Sleepy Hollow just north of I-90 and immediately west of the Elgin Oaks Industrial Park. Those homes will be purchased by Atlanta-based High Street Logistic Properties and converted into industrial buildings totaling more than 435,000 square feet combined. The buildings will sit on 32 acres.

The existing boundary agreement between Elgin and Sleepy Hollow envisioned that area as future Sleepy Hollow territory. But the company behind the deal wants to tap into Elgin's sewer and water system, which is a level of infrastructure Sleepy Hollow is not in a position to create and extend.

Sleepy Hollow village trustees unanimously agreed to sign that property over to Elgin in trade for a cut of any property and sales taxes the new industrial facility generates. The deal calls for a 50/50 split of any such tax revenue for five years, beginning when the facility is up and running.

Sleepy Hollow officials initially pitched a 10-year sharing of the tax revenue, perhaps at a lower split. But when Elgin came back with the five-year offer, village trustees decided not to push their luck. The current boundary agreement expires in 2026, leaving Sleepy Hollow with little leverage and the possibility of getting even less than five years of a share of the tax revenue without the new agreement.

Neither village envisions much, if any, sales tax revenue to flow from the development. Neither municipality has publicly shared estimates of the new property tax revenue that would flow from the property, but the Dundee Township Assessor's Office estimates the project has a market value of up to $32 million.

Elgin planning documents indicate the developer does not yet have tenants for the industrial buildings, "but they report they have already received several inquiries that would provide excellent visibility from the tollway."

Elgin City Council members unanimously approved the deal with Sleepy Hollow Wednesday night.