Glen Ellyn officials are considering creating the village's second special taxing district that would aim to spark economic development along Roosevelt Road.

The village board gave village staff the green light Monday to pursue a feasibility study to see if the proposed development district along Roosevelt Road is eligible. A tax increment financing district is a tool local governments can use to funnel tax dollars toward making improvements in an area that has difficulty attracting development.

Glen Ellyn village trustees created the village's first tax increment financing district earlier this year in an effort to promote downtown development and improvements.

The districts can sometimes prove to be controversial because they freeze property tax assessments that determine revenue to local taxing bodies, like school and park districts. Any growth in property value is taxed and money is directed toward improvements in the area instead.

Glen Ellyn officials say there's been a lack of private investment in portions of Roosevelt Road that might qualify the area for the development incentive. The area being considered is bounded by commercial and multifamily residential properties fronting the north side of Roosevelt Road located between Main Street to the east and Park Boulevard to the west. It also includes commercial properties between Park Boulevard and Route 53 situated between Roosevelt Road and Taft Avenue.

The proposed boundaries do not include most of the commercial district that has been redeveloped in the last 20 years, like Baker Hill Development, Pickwick Plaza and Market Plaza, where Jewel sits, said Glen Ellyn Village Manager Mark Franz. The genesis for the initial analysis of a second special taxing district is that there "appears to be a number of underutilized opportunity sites" for development in the proposed area, Franz said.

He called Roosevelt Road a critical commercial district for the village, bringing in 70 percent to 80 percent of the village's sales tax revenue.

"It's an older area that needs some type of shot in the arm to get development to happen there," Franz said.

Franz said the village is expected to put out a request for proposals for a consultant to do the feasibility study, which could take months to complete.

mmanchir@tribune.com