What is the Fairview Avenue TIF district in Downers Grove?
The Village Council unanimously approved a Tax Increment Financing district along Fairview Avenue on April 14, 2026, following a rezoning of roughly 125 properties in 2025. It funds an estimated $10 million in planned improvements without raising anyone's tax rate.
If you own property near the Fairview Avenue Metra stop, two things happened to your neighborhood in the past eighteen months that most residents there still have not heard about.
The zoning changed. Then the financing followed.
What Actually Happened
In April 2025, the Village Council adopted a rezoning of roughly 125 properties in what the Village calls the Fairview Focus Area, creating three new zoning districts along with text amendments to the zoning ordinance.
A year later, on April 14, 2026, the Council unanimously approved the Fairview Avenue Tax Increment Financing District and its redevelopment plan. The TIF boundary runs along Burlington Avenue from Washington Street south to Williams Street.
The reason comes down to money. The Guiding DG plans recommend several capital projects for the area and its connection to downtown, with preliminary construction cost estimates exceeding $10 million. As Village documents put it plainly, the Village lacked a dedicated revenue source to fund them.
What a TIF Actually Does
This is the part worth understanding, because it is widely misunderstood.
At the March 2026 public hearing, Community Development Director Stan Popovich explained that a TIF does not increase tax rates. It splits tax revenue into two buckets: base revenues that continue flowing to all local taxing bodies, and the increment, meaning future growth in assessed value within the district, which gets directed toward improvements inside that district.
So if you own a home inside the boundary, your tax rate does not change because of the TIF. What changes is where the growth in tax revenue from that area goes for the life of the district.
This Has Been Coming for Fifteen Years
The Fairview area has been identified as needing improvements for well over a decade. The 2011 Comprehensive Plan laid out key concepts. The 2017 plan updated them. In 2023, the Council directed staff to actually implement a Fairview Focus Area Plan. The regulatory framework was reconfirmed in October 2024.
The rezoning itself moved through two neighborhood meetings in January 2025, a Plan Commission hearing in March 2025, Council review on March 18, and adoption on April 8, 2025.
The TIF followed its own track: a feasibility study approved in November 2025, an ordinance in January 2026 calling for the public hearing and joint review board, the review board meeting in February, the public hearing March 3, and final approval April 14.
Not Everyone Was Comfortable
At the January 2026 meeting, a resident raised the concern that her neighbors might not be aware a TIF district was coming to their neighborhood, and pointed to concerns with the existing Ogden TIF district.
Commissioner Mike Davenport responded that the TIF came out of community feedback gathered during the Guiding DG process, and that the Council had discussed the Fairview zoning in depth with public input. Mayor Bob Barnett noted at that point the Council was only about a third of the way through the TIF process.
That is worth knowing if you live there. The process was public and ran for years, but the resident's underlying point stands: plenty of people inside the boundary have no idea.
What It Means If You Own There
Two practical questions matter, and they are different from each other.
Did your parcel's zoning change? The 2025 rezoning created three new districts covering roughly 125 properties. If your address falls inside, what can be built or renovated on your lot may be different than it was two years ago. The Village maintains a map of the Fairview Focus Area with links to the underlying ordinances.
Are you inside the TIF boundary? That runs along Burlington from Washington south to Williams. Being inside does not change your tax rate. It means the area is positioned for public investment and redevelopment incentives over a long horizon.
The Village has been explicit that this is modeled on downtown Downers Grove's earlier revitalization, which means a slow shift toward denser, mixed commercial and residential use near the station rather than anything that happens next spring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a TIF district raise my property taxes?
No. As the Village explained at the March 2026 public hearing, a TIF does not increase tax rates. It splits revenue so that base amounts continue to all taxing bodies while future growth in assessed value within the district funds improvements there.
When was the Fairview TIF approved?
The Village Council approved the Fairview Avenue TIF District, redevelopment plan, and project unanimously on April 14, 2026, as Ordinance 6188.
How do I find out if my property is in the Fairview Focus Area?
The Village of Downers Grove maintains a map of the plan boundaries and links to the zoning ordinances on its Fairview Focus Area page.
Zoning changes and TIF boundaries do not show up in a portal estimate, but they affect what your property can become. If you own near Fairview and want to know where your parcel actually stands, call or text Rob Brannigan at 847.609.0570 or visit robbrannigan.com.
Additional Resources
- North vs. South Downers Grove: What 360 Home Sales Show
- Linda Kunze Plaza Is Under Construction, and It Is Not the Only Downtown Project
- Downers Grove Housing Market Q2 2026 Update
Written by Rob Brannigan (IL License #475.164040), RENE + SRS. Lifelong Downers Grove resident. Data-driven guidance for sellers and buyers in Downers Grove and surrounding communities.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
