A revised agreement to extend $1 million in financial aid to help renovate the La Grange Theatre was presented Monday night to the village board of trustees.
Under new terms outlined in a report from the village manager, Bob Pilipiszyn, the village would purchase an easement on the theater's façade for $237,500 and provide the remaining $762,500 as a loan that would be repaid, along with easement monies, only if the theater ceased operating as a movie venue.
If approved by the board, the revised agreement would replace one adopted Nov. 10 in which the entire $1 million was to be used for purchase of the façade easement.
The source of the village monies remains tax increment financing (TIF) funds, which will be placed in an escrow account along with $650,000 to be deposited by the theater's owners, John Rot and David Rizner.
The two partners proposed revising the agreement when they realized that receiving all of the money in exchange for the easement would increase their tax liability. An appraisal they ordered said the fair market value of the easement is $237,500.
The new agreement also "better secures the Village's 'investment' in the theater to a degree" because the loan portion will be secured by a junior mortgage on the theater property, Pilipiszyn wrote in his report.
A letter attached to the report from the village attorney, Mark Burkland, noted that the Rot and Rizner transferred ownership of the theater to 80 South Lagrange Inc. from Seamus Knolls LLC. Both are Illinois corporations that they control.
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