Save the date. 

The village of River Forest has scheduled a public housing impact meeting to discuss a proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district on North Avenue. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m., April 24, at the Willard School auditorium, 1250 Ashland Ave. 

"We're making good progress," Village President Cathy Adduci said at the regular village board meeting, April 9. 

The TIF redevelopment project and plan, eligibility study and housing impact study can all be found online at www.vrf.us/northtif.

If approved, the North Avenue TIF will stretch from Harlem Avenue to Thatcher Road, along the north border of the town and adjoining Elmwood Park. A 2010 Corridor Plan found that 35,000 cars travel down the proposed TIF route daily, making North Avenue the most heavily trafficked corridor in River Forest. 

The plan, developed by the Chicago-based urban planning firm Houseal Lavigne Associates, noted that shallow lot depths, adjacent residential neighborhoods, existing built-out development pattern, and access issues present a challenge to development of North Avenue. 

"If the village does not implement this TIF, meaningful redevelopment is less likely to occur, and we may lose a prime opportunity for economic revitalization of the corridor," the village's North Avenue TIF page reads. 

The TIF aims to increase the village's property tax base and stabilize property taxes on homeowners, according to the village.

Nona Tepper