Feed My Starving Children hopes to grow in Schaumburg
Feed My Starving Children wants to move to new quarters in Schaumburg that would approximately double its current space in the village and increase its number of employees and volunteers.
While the charity's main mission is helping people in need, it's had to calculate its economic impact on the area to help the developer of the proposed 49,900-square-foot building qualify for a Cook County tax incentive.
Feed My Starving Children Site Manager John Schmelzel said it was a different experience to think in that way, but he understands why it's necessary.
The move would add 18 full-time and eight part-time workers, for a total of 45 paid staff at the building. It also would allow the charity to bring in between 200,000 and 225,000 volunteers annually, up from 130,000 last year.
That means more people buying food, gas and other goods while in Schaumburg.
"We're not exactly Woodfield Mall, but we do pretty well at bringing people in," Schmelzel said.
Schmelzel said about 105,000 of last year's volunteers came from outside Schaumburg. While many traveled from the Chicago area, others drove from Iowa and Pennsylvania for group volunteer work, Schmelzel said.
The agency's conservative estimate of its economic impact is $700,000 a year. That includes volunteers' purchases as well as an annual gala and holiday packing event at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center and hotel stays there and elsewhere.
The developer of the charity's proposed new location, 2KWRF LLC, is seeking Schaumburg's recommendation for a Cook County Class 6B tax incentive to build the facility at 740-780 Wiley Farm Court.
The incentive reduces the level of assessment on a property from 25 to 10 percent - effectively cutting property taxes in half - for 10 years. The level of assessment then gradually rises over the next two years before returning to normal.
While the proposal meets three of the four requirements for the incentive, it falls short by four employees in the number of people that would need to work there, Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said.
Feed My Starving Children plans to occupy 75 percent of the building, but the developer isn't certain how long it may take to find a secondary tenant for the last 25 percent, Frank added.
An agreement is sought in which the developer would commit to 75 percent of the employee quota - or 37 workers - by the end of 2023. In later years, the landlord would have to pay $2,500 for every job short of 37 at the facility.
Schaumburg staff are supportive of the request to keep the village competitive with the lower taxes of the collar counties, Frank said.
"This is an opportunity to build on land that's long been vacant farm land," he said. "Also, it's doing good for the world here. It's a great organization."
Schaumburg trustees' committee of the whole will discuss its recommendation on the tax incentive at its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
If the Cook County Board approves the incentive, it's hoped the building could be completed by December or January, Schmelzel said.