"The goal is to encourage private investment downtown that is otherwise not occurring," village administrator Andrew Lichterman told the Daily Herald in late September. He was talking about a proposed tax increment financing district covering about 108 acres of downtown Antioch. The village has set a public hearing on it for November 12.
That date comes in the middle of downtown's busiest stretch of the year. On September 26, the Fall Wine Walk poured more than 50 wines at more than 30 participating restaurants, retailers and local businesses. From now through New Year's Day, almost every weekend has something scheduled on Main, Lake or Orchard streets. The district's proposed boundaries run along Lake Street, Hillside Avenue, Orchard and Williams streets, and the Metra North Central Service tracks. The fall calendar and the redevelopment plan cover the same ground. The plan's eligibility study describes what lies underneath the events: aging buildings, undersized water mains, and one conspicuous empty corner.
The Empty Corner at Main and Orchard
The former Village Hall stands at 874 Main Street, where Main (Route 83) meets Orchard Street. According to the village, the 1,557-square-foot building dates to 1969. The site housed the public library in the 1940s, and the building later served as the police station. A vehicle crash in November 2019 badly damaged it, and by June 2020 the village was planning renovations.
Those renovations turned into a move. In 2022 the village bought the former Centegra medical building and 4.3 acres for $1.175 million. The new Village Hall opened at 935 Skidmore Drive at the end of August 2025, and the village said it would then market the Main Street property for redevelopment.
Developers have shown interest. At the July 23, 2025 village board meeting, EMA Properties and HPM Architects presented a three-story, 42-unit mixed-use concept for 874 Main. It had 11 on-site parking spaces and relied on 59 spaces in a village lot, and trustees asked for lower-density options and better parking solutions. The team brought back a revised version in September 2025. Trustees again raised parking and accessibility and discussed whether a garage or TIF might be part of the answer. On December 31, 2025, Mayor Scott Gartner wrote that the village was working with developers on concepts for the site that would add new retail and residential space.
As of the Daily Herald's September 25 story, the building is still empty. The paper describes replacing the former village hall buildings as a likely candidate for TIF assistance. An informal presentation showed a restaurant on the ground floor with homes above, but no formal application has been filed. Anyone at Treat the Streets or a holiday stroll this year will pass a key downtown corner whose future is still undecided.
What the Study Found Under the Sidewalks
The village released its eligibility report and redevelopment plan, prepared by the Chicago firm SB Friedman Development Advisors, on September 11, 2026. It counts 203 tax parcels and about 119 buildings in the proposed district. The vacant land qualifies as "blighted" because its property value hasn't grown. The developed land qualifies as a "conservation area," a category based largely on building age: 91% of the buildings are more than 35 years old.
Some of the most specific findings are about infrastructure that no one at a festival sees. The study flags stormwater lines along Orchard Street and Hillside Avenue for upsizing, aging sanitary sewers, and six-inch water mains it calls inadequate for modern development and fire protection. It also notes overhead electrical lines and eroding streetlight conduit. The plan also points back to the village's 2019 Comprehensive Plan, which called for hardscape, street lighting, wayfinding and façade work along Main and Lake streets.
Here is how a TIF works, as the Daily Herald explains it. For taxing bodies, property values inside the district are frozen at their current level for up to 23 years. As improvements raise those values, the added tax revenue, called the increment, is set aside to pay for development-related costs. SB Friedman puts the current equalized assessed value of all taxable parcels in the district at $15.4 million. It projects that figure could reach about $144 million by the time the district ends.
The plan sets a ceiling of $76 million in eligible costs, stated in 2027 dollars. The largest categories:
| Category | Estimated eligible cost |
|---|---|
| Public works and improvements | $27.5 million |
| Site assembly and preparation | $16 million |
| Building rehabilitation | $15 million |
| Administration and professional services | $6 million |
The report is a budget ceiling, not a project list. It names no individual projects or start dates. If the village adopts the district ordinances in 2027, the plan sets December 31, 2051 as the deadline to finish projects and retire obligations.
The Season, Date by Date
The schedule below puts the events and the civic steps on one timeline, since they share a downtown and, in mid-November, a single week.
- Saturday, October 10: Antioch After Dark: Ghosts & Spirits. The night starts at the Antioch Theatre, 378 Lake Street, with a U.S. Paranormal Research presentation of photos, video and audio from past investigations. Then the group moves to downtown stops with drink specials. Two drink tickets, good for up to $6 each, are included. Guests must be 21 or older. The village newsletter and Visit Lake County list 6 to 9 p.m., while one village post says it runs until 10. On the same night, children ages 5 to 12 can attend the Boo Bash Parents' Night Out from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation Department, 806 Holbek Drive. You can register for both through the village recreation catalog.
- October 9 through 31: Ride the Cyclone at PM&L Theatre, 877 Main Street. She Kills Monsters opens October 16 and runs through November 1.
- Saturday, October 17: Witches Day Out with Launch Party, noon to 4 p.m. at Rivalry Alehouse, 945 Main Street. It includes a witch contest and a 1 to 4 p.m. scavenger hunt through downtown shops.
- Saturday, October 24: Treat the Streets and Harvest Fall Fest. Treat the Streets runs downtown from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Harvest Fall Fest follows from noon to 4 p.m. at the Bandshell, 900 Skidmore Drive, with hayrides, food vendors, the pumpkin roll and costume contests.
- Saturday, October 31: Trick-or-treat, 3 to 7 p.m., per the village.
- Saturday, November 7: Champagne Stroll, Mimosa Bar and Brunch Bites, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting at Rivalry Alehouse.
- November 9 through 30: Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving Trail. Families follow QR codes posted in participating downtown business windows. The Chamber says more details are coming.
- Thursday, November 12: Public hearing on the proposed downtown TIF.
- November 20 through December 13: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! at PM&L.
- Saturday, November 21: Bubbles, Bourbon and Brunch, noon to 2 p.m. at Rivalry Alehouse.
- November 26 through January 1: Dickens Holiday Village and Christmas at Kringle, 510 Orchard Street, open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free.
- Saturday, November 28: Shop Small, the Chamber's downtown holiday-shopping kickoff. The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon also opens at PM&L that day and runs through December 12.
- Sunday, November 29: Grinch Vs. Santa Lunch, 1:30 p.m. at Rivalry Alehouse.
Four of these events are at one address, Rivalry Alehouse at 945 Main. Orchard Street, one of the district's named boundaries, hosts the longest-running event of the season, from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day.
Where the Hearing Fits Between the Strolls
The November 12 hearing falls three days into the Thanksgiving Trail and nine days before Bubbles, Bourbon and Brunch. According to Lichterman, the hearing and the interested-parties registry are the first steps in the process, not the district's creation. The village's October 1 notice sets up that registry for the proposed area. Anyone who wants to be kept informed as the process moves forward can sign up.
The plan's objectives would reach the blocks used for this season's events. They include façade and building rehabilitation, stormwater and utility upgrades, streetscaping and signage, and preparing and marketing redevelopment sites, including demolition or environmental cleanup where needed. None of that is scheduled yet. For now, the plan offers a $76 million ceiling, a 2051 deadline, and an empty building at Main and Orchard that would be one of the first candidates.
The hearing date and the plan's 2027 start mean a downtown storefront or nearby home will carry this open question into next year. If you own near downtown and want to understand how the proposal might come up when you sell, Deena Allie follows the TIF process at Village Hall and can talk through what is and isn't decided. Schedule a Consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
