TIF Funds Will Support New Northwest Side Restaurant

10950 W. Good Hope Rd. Photo taken January, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.

IVR is getting TIF.

The City of Milwaukee is proposing to tap a tax incremental financing (TIF) district to fund the construction of the IVR Bar, a new international fusion restaurant, on W. Good Hope Road.

The Department of City Development (DCD) is proposing to contribute $65,000 to the $202,600 restaurant buildout.

IVR Bar, short for International Variety Restaurant, would serve a mix of Mexican, Indian, Italian and Chinese cuisines in the former Point Burger Bar space at 10950 W. Good Hope Rd.

“It’s a great use of the funds,” said Terrence Moore, DCD neighborhood business development specialist, to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee Tuesday.

The unusual funding allocation is enabled by the TIF district’s 2017 creation. The district, backed by then-alderman Jim Bohl, includes a $300,000 grant pool to support businesses in the Park Place Business Park, which was then experiencing a high vacancy rate. The business park, anchored by two twin glass towers along Interstate 41, is the largest concentration of office space outside of Downtown.

“Kind of a unique situation,” said Matt Rejc, head of the city’s Commercial Corridor Team.

“I am very supportive of the signage for this business. It’s a really welcome addition to our community,” said area Alderwoman Larresa Taylor.

As Urban Milwaukee reported in July, IVR owners Apexa Patel and her husband, Vijay Patel, operate Indian Village Restaurant locations in Greenfield and Waukesha. They also own Honeydip Donuts at 805 S. Layton Blvd.

The new restaurant would fill the Point Burger space, which has been vacant for two years. The couple is also buying the property.

DCD is applying its standard grant program formulas, which provide matching funds for facade, signage or storefront investments, to IVR’s request. But instead of relying on a limited pool of money, DCD is proposing to tap the TIF district funded by increased property taxes from the district.

The majority of the funding, $60,000, would partially reimburse the $177,600 buildout and facade costs from low-bidder EZ Construction. The remaining $5,000 would partially pay for signage from Speedy Signs.

“It’s a great use of grant funds,” said Rejc.

It’s the second time the city has tapped the grant fund. In 2019, the city provided $4,300 to the proposed Broken Egg restaurant for facade and signage improvements and $10,000 to the neighboring retail property, Liberty Plaza, for a signage grant. Later in 2019, after a copyright infringement issue was raised, Broken Egg, 10843 W. Park Pl., was rebranded as Park Place Cafe.

The TIF district was also tapped in the past to fund repaving W. Good Hope Road and to provide a $125,000 grant to support the 2018 development of A.O. Smith’s corporate technology center.

According to DCD’s 2023 year-end report, the Park Place TIF district has generated $52,522 in incremental revenue. But all of that increment has occurred in the past year. According to the report, the district’s assessed value fell by $21 million in 2021 before recovering to have a $2.5 million incremental assessed value in 2023. It is back on track to repay all associated debt within its 20-year maximum legal life.

The committee unanimously endorsed the latest TIF amendment. It is scheduled to be considered by the full Common Council on Oct. 15.

Standard formula grants do not require council approval, but, with council approval, DCD has increasingly used new or overperforming TIF districts to refill the programs’ coffers.

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