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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2016
photo by Dee Longfellow
All aboard the trolley for Museum Day Everyone aboard the Elmhurst Trolley gives a wave before traveling to the next stop along the trail of the 20th anniversary and the BIGGEST Museum Day ever, held on Sunday, May 15. The trolley rolled along the streets in downtown, offering rides to three local museums and to the Wilder Park
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cultural campus. To celebrate its 20th year, the event included the Wilder Park Conservatory and the Elmhurst Public Library, which hosted games and stories for kids. More photos inside this issue.
Elmhurst BMW seeks $6 million to expand dealership ELMHURST — City Manager Jim Grabowski presented to the City Council a proposed redevelopment agreement proposal including $6 million for the expansion of the BMW auto dealership as part of a new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District.
The Elmhurst Auto Group, of which BMW is a part, said it expects a 50 percent increase in vehicle sales with additional showroom and inventory space. Grabowski said another unnamed municipality made a $6 million offer to BMW. At a May 9th meeting for the Committee of the Whole, he listed possible financial con-
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Police Reports...........6 Sports ��������������� 25-30 Viewpoint ����������������8 Classifieds..........36-37
siderations: Loss of not only BMW but also the entire Elmhurst Auto Group which includes Toyota and Jaguar; Elmhurst Auto Group is one of the highest sales taxproducing businesses in Elmhurst; (Together they sold $107,773,000 in vehicles and parts yielding $1,077,773 in
sales tax revenue to the City of Elmhurst in 2015.) Loss of other dealerships; Loss of BMW would affect ability to attract other luxury auto dealerships; “Snowball effect”—potential catastrophic loss of sales tax revenue; Loss of a number of employees (currently 166) and ancil-
lary revenue benefits; Loss of unique visits for sales and service and ancillary revenue benefits (44,681service visits and 32,594 sales visits). The City Manager said due to the substantial land acquisition cost required, Elmhurst BMW approached the City for
See BMW, Page 3
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By Dan McLeister For The Elmhurst Independent
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