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An Ordinance Adopting and Consenting to Approval of a Cook County Class 7c Designation for the Rehabilitation of a Building at 222 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois
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Introduction
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Bayan Ceramics Studio LLC., a woman-owned and minority-owned ceramics studio and education center, submitted an application for a Cook County Class 7C Designation Commercial Property Tax Incentive (CURE - Commercial Urban Relief Eligibility).
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Recommended Action
Adopt the ordinance.
Prior Board Action
There is no prior Board action associated with this item.
Background
The ordinance aligns with the Village Board's goals and the Village’s Formal Economic Development Strategy to retain, grow, and attract businesses, including small, women- and minority-owned enterprises and entrepreneurs choosing to invest in Oak Park. The Office of Economic Vitality has been working to redevelop and reoccupy the property at 222 Lake Street and return it to productive use. Economic Vitality staff have been marketing the property to a variety of businesses. Village staff conducted a walkthrough of the property with a prospective purchaser and articulated any deficiencies in the building and work that would need to be completed to bring the property up to Village code.
Bayan Ceramics Studio was founded by a veteran human resources C-level executive with deep roots in Oak Park. The founder is a local Oak Park resident and has applied for a women’s business enterprise (WBE) certification. The wellness dimension of Bayan Ceramics studio is not a marketing concept. It is the founder’s personal original story. The founder has been managing a chronic condition for over a decade and found in the ceramic wheel work a form of healing that no other practice had offered: a rhythmic, meditative discipline that demands full presence, quiets the mind, and reconnects the maker to her own sense of center. The studio is designed not just as a place to learn ceramics, but as a place to heal, reflect, and find oneself through the tactile, grounding power of clay.
Bayan Ceramics Studio plans to undertake a $610,000 rehabilitation of the property. The property is currently a shell and in a depressed physical condition. They plan to build new non-gender bathrooms, renovate the floors, new walls, new water heater, new HVAC system, electric kilns ventilation system and hook-up, new electrical sub-panel, roofing upgrades, storage, community/lounge area, fire alarm safety system, paint, air filtration system, instructional area and member area upgrades.
Bayan Ceramics Studio is a premium ceramics-making and education studio. The studio will offer wheel-throwing and hand-building instruction across beginner through advanced levels. The open studio membership is designed for independent working artists, private events, and corporate programming, as well as retail sales of ceramic pieces and supplies. Oak Park has yoga studios, meditation centers, and fitness facilities, but no wellness-forward ceramics sanctuary like Bayan Ceramics Studio.
The applicant applied for, and was approved by the liquor commission for a D-19 liquor license to offer light spirits during private events, including their play and cabernet night package. The liquor license needs approval from the Village Board. The Liquor Control Commission approved a D-19 liquor license on April 28, 2026, which will be considered for Village Board approval on May 12, 2026.
There will be memberships, classes, and educational programing for all age cohorts. More specifically, there will be youth programming starting with classes on Tuesday and Thursdays after school for teenagers. The founder is also planning to collaborate with the OPRF High School Arts Program to discuss if they want to partner on classes given the proximity to the high school.
Timing Considerations
The applicant is under contract to purchase the building and is unlikely to do so without the assistance of the Cook County Class 7c incentive designation. The applicant would like to close on the real estate transaction by the end of May 2026. The Liquor Control Commission approved a D-19 liquor license on April 28, 2026, which will be considered for Village Board approval on May 12, 2026.
Financial Impact
The 7,600+ square-foot property at 222 Lake Street is a blighted and underutilized property that has had a complete lack of investment over the last 26 years. The sales history of the property indicates the unassisted market has been unable to develop across multiple ownership cycles. The Cook County Class 7c incentive will allow the applicant to completely rehabilitate the property. The property tax savings will be reinvested into the property and community programming. In this case, the Cook County Class 7c incentive is an investment in the Lake-Austin Business District and in the Oak Park arts ecosystem. This $610,000 investment in a long-dormant shell building will help invigorate this commercial area and create a community institution in formation that customers can patronize on a frequent basis. The founder’s selection of this location is not incidental; it is central to the site selection decision-making process. The property is located across the street from the School of Rock. The Bayan Ceramics Studio LLC will anchor the emerging arts presence on this block and contribute to a natural arts district cluster in the Lake Street corridor. The ceramics studio will be a complementary use to the Lake Austin Business District.
Bayan Ceramics Studio is forecasting total revenues/sales of $933,218 in Year 1 rising to $1,096,776 in Year 2, and $1,223,284 in year 3. This includes all revenues/sales derived from their operations. The forecasts do not provide adequate information to determine a breakdown of sales tax. There will be sales tax on ceramic items sold at the property. However, the applicant does not have a detailed estimate/projection of retail sales.
There will be no liquor tax revenues since any liquor (wine and beer) will be provided to the event buyer securing the entire space for a Friday night special event, corporate events, or other types of private events.
The property is not currently generating any sales taxes and has not done so for years. The property is not generating the maximum property tax revenue since the property has been vacant. The Village will receive new sales tax revenue generated by a project in terms of any taxable retail sales. The Cook County Assessor’s Office records indicate the building’s assessed value has declined from $126,613 in 2022 to $46,980 currently, a decline of 63 percent in three years. A review and comparison of the Board of Review final values only indicates that building value declined from $61,313 in 2022 to $46,980 today, representing a decline of 23 percent. The assessment values and building values indicate the property’s declining values attributable to the building’s depressed physical condition. The Cook County Class 7c is essential to the financial feasibility of the project. The applicant intends to invest $610,000 into the property with a major rehabilitation.
Even at the reduced Class 7c assessment rate of 10 percent, the fully improved property will generate approximately $34,200 in annual property taxes in years 1-3, which is comparable to the suppressed level. However, the property would be a fully occupied and operational, income-generating commercial studio. As the incentive steps to 15 percent in Year 4, tax revenue increases to approximately $51,300 and to approximately $68,400 in Year 5 at the 20 percent rate. Following the incentive expiration after five years, the property returns to full standard-rate taxation of 25 percent or approximately $85,500 per year. Over the five-year incentive period, the municipality received approximately $213,900 in incremental tax revenue from a property currently contributing a tax revenue stream that is at a depressed, unimproved rate. This improved revenue stream is made possible only with the major rehabilitation that the incentive enables.
The property will also generate a significant amount of customers that will have a cascading impact on adjacent properties and on cross-shopping opportunities in the Lake-Austin Business District.
Bayan Ceramics Studio LLC will create an estimated nine positions. This includes two full-time positions, two part-time positions, and create temporary construction job employment during the rehabilitation of the building. The new job creation will add to the economic vitality in Oak Park.
Operations Impact
Village staff have spent approximately 18 hours analyzing the project’s impact. The item aligns with the Office of Economic Vitality’s core objectives to recycle vacant and blighted commercial space. Village staff did not utilize any external consultants to review the application. This is a normal task for the economic vitality team to review Cook County Class 7c applications.
DEI Impact
The founder of Bayan Ceramics Studio has applied for a women business enterprise (WBE) certification and is a local Oak Park resident. Putting 222 Lake Street into productive use expands entrepreneurship, small business inclusion and enhances visible diverse representation within the commercial corridor. The Village’s Office of Economic Vitality will continue collaborating with Bayan Ceramics Studio LLC to provide small business support, and encourage the hiring of local residents, women, minority applicants, and veterans.
Community Input
There has been no community input given in relation to this item.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of the Cook County Class 7c designation.
Advantages:
• The property will generate an enhanced property tax revenue stream following over $600,0000 in rehabilitation and improvements to the property.
• The Class 7c will eliminate 7,600 + square feet of vacant space in the Lake-Austin District and jumpstart leasing efforts in the district. The new Ceramics studio will create cross-shopping opportunities for other retailers, restaurants, and professional services in the District and greater Oak Park area.
• There will be multiplier impacts of all the wages and salary income from construction jobs and full-time and part-time permanent jobs created by Bayan Ceramics Studio LLC.
• The Class 7c Tax Incentive encourages significant investment that can increase the property’s value.
• This action improves the Village’s building stock and encourages other owners to undertake restoration efforts and improve the surrounding properties.
Disadvantages:
• A tax reduction for one property might burden other property taxpayers in the Village.
• A decrease in property tax collection reduces money for other taxing bodies in the Village.
Alternatives
The Board can elect not to support the granting of the Class 7c tax incentive.
Advantages:
• There will be no reduction to the total tax base of the Village.
• There will be no reduction of funding to other taxing bodies.
• This action prevents unnecessary subsidies.
Disadvantages:
• The landlord may decide not to move forward with the redevelopment.
• This action can result in a potential scenario where the project does not get completed.
• Without the Class 7c incentive, buildings may fall into disrepair.
• Not renovating the building could inhibit attracting tenants to other spaces in the adjacent properties.
Anticipated Future Actions
There are no anticipated future actions in relation to this item.
Prepared By: John C. Melaniphy, Assistant Village Manager of Economic Vitality
Reviewed By: Jack Malec, Assistant to the Village Manager
Approved By: Kevin J. Jackson, Village Manager
Attachment(s):
1. Ordinance
2. Application - Cook County Class 7 - 222 Lake Street
3. Business Case - Bayan Ceramics Studio LLC - 222 Lake Street