New North Naperville Hotel Could Get $7.5 Million Tax Break

A proposed north Naperville hotel and conference center development could receive $7.5 million worth of incentives. 

City officials were given approval during Tuesday's City Council meeting to draft a formal incentive agreement to present to the developer of Freedom Plaza, a development that would sit on 13.2 acres of vacant land on Arbiter Court, west of the Freedom Commons shopping center between I-88 and Diehl Road, and include a 168-room Embassy Suites hotel.

Four free-standing restaurants would also be located on the property and a fifth restaurant called Brickstones would be inside the hotel. 

Under the incentive, developer Lakhany Group Investments, LLC would receive a sales tax rebate of $7.5 million over the course of 20 years to develop Freedom Plaza's 13,000-square-foot conference center, which is capable of holding more than 1,000 people. 

A meeting space of that size has been long-sought by the city and is not currently available within Naperville.

A full rebate of the hotel tax and a 75 percent rebate of the retail sales tax in the hotel's conference center is included within the incentive. An additional sales tax rebate of up to $500,000 for the purchases of construction products from local Naperville businesses is included as well.

However, council members did not agree on a $23,000 waiver of development fees, which was proposed by Lakhany Group.  

Councilman Doug Krause told fellow council members Tuesday that they shouldn't be spending too much time trying to "nickel and dime" the incentives.

"I'm more concerned that you do this project, you get it done because it is a Class-A project," Krause said. 

City Council unanimously approved preliminary plans for the proposed $50 to $60 million development earlier this month and construction is expected to begin in August. 

City officials will now draft and present a formal incentive agreement to the developer, which council will vote on at the next City Council meeting. 

Earlier: City Moves Forward With North Naperville Hotel, Conference Center