Mark Houser's Equity One Development Corporation plans to erect a minor league baseball stadium on Route 14 at the east edge of Woodstock and submitted an application last week asking to receive more than half the county's authorized $27.5 million in facilities recovery bonds. Houser's application didn't list a bank to buy the bonds, however.
"I'm in kind of a Catch 22 here," Houser told the committee. "It's very hard to sell these bonds with (just) the backing of the private entity." That, however, is the essence of the bonds which would be backed only by revenue generated by the projects they finance.
Houser said that although two investment banks were willing to market the bonds for him they wanted the County Board to authorize them first. That is the reverse of the process the committee set up in the first place, though.
"It sounds like everybody wants somebody to be the one who says 'Yes' first," commented Board Member Mary Donner.
Member John Hammerand quizzed Houser on his background. Notably absent in Houser's reply was his role as developer of the divisive minor league baseball stadium finally rejected by McHenry County College last year. Prominent was his history as developer of the Libertyville Sports Complex. Coincidentally a regional newspaper profiled that facility this past weekend as a chronic money-loser for the Lake County village.
"We want some letter of commitment from (the bank)," said Committee Chairman Marc Munaretto. Otherwise, he said, the committee might be forced to reject stronger applications while Houser was still trying to line up financing for his own project.
Houser had requested six months to do that. The Finance committee gave him two more weeks.
In the pic: After asking the county for $15 million, baseball stadium developer Mark Houser said the project would return 9 percent to investors its first year. The MCC version wasn't projected to reach breakeven for five years. Houser called it "a completely different project."
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