The Mokena Village Board will consider a performance-based financial incentive that could award Midwest Furniture Liquidators, a business with a Mokena store for 10 years, up to $150,000 in sales tax revenue over the next five years, according to Brent Cann, Mokena community development director.

Cann said the incentive, which would apply if the business increases its sales, may be voted on Nov. 24 or Dec. 8 as part of a larger effort to reinvigorate the area. He said the company plans to invest in needed improvements to the store along 191st Street.

Amjad Hamdan, head of operations for Midwest Furniture Liquidators, said his renovation plans will be a “little twist of a new image for the business.” Midwest Furniture Liquidators also has a Chicago area store in Schaumburg.

Hamdan said he plans to invest at least half a million dollars to renovate the existing building in Mokena to look more like a retail store instead of a warehouse. Hamdan also plans to expand the store, which is 50,000 square feet, by 25,000 to 30,000 square feet using adjacent space previously occupied by volleyball courts for Velocity All Sport.

Hamdan said the company also plans to increase the company’s marketing budget by 25% and spend more funds on costs like electrical work, lighting, flooring, new entrances and demolishing walls.

He said he expects these combined efforts to increase sales by at least 30% in the first year following the end of renovations.

If Hamdan does increase sales, he could be awarded funding under the proposed incentive.

As presented Tuesday, the deal would promise the furniture store a share of the sales tax money beginning Jan. 1, 2027, as long as the business brings in more revenue, which means the store’s revenue exceeds its average revenue over the past five years, Cann said.

The village would then pay the store half of that extra revenue through money from the village’s portion of the sales tax. For example, Cann said that if the store’s sales go up by 30% compared to its average, the village would give the store the equivalent of 15% of that increase, paid from its sales tax revenue.

The payments would continue until either the store has received $150,000, or five years have passed, whichever comes first, Cann said. He also said the Village Board may consider extending the incentive to 10 years or adjusting the incentive cap number.

Hamdan said the proposed incentive would allow him to begin renovations sooner. Normally, he said, he would have waited several years to save enough money to cover the full cost, but with the incentive in place, he feels confident moving forward now. He expects as his sales increase after the renovations, the village will reimburse him for part of those costs through the incentive program.

Hamdan also said the incentive helps the company during a particularly challenging time.

He said the U.S. tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump’s administration in January and July increased costs for the products his company was buying from overseas. He said these increased costs pushed the company to buy more products from U.S. furniture sources in order to stay competitive in the market and still offer affordable prices. He said these changes have been hard, and the village’s support is helpful.

He said he was pleased when village officials proposed the incentive idea in early spring, after he approached them with his renovation ideas.

Cann said the village is excited about Hamdan’s ideas to take out the industrial aspects of the building, such as the loading docks. Instead of having the store in one big room, Hamdan said he wants to add features such as canopies, signage, landscaping and windows to showcase different pieces of furniture, such as a dining set or a dining room, instead of lumping it all together.

“When they’re betting on themselves, you know, we certainly want to try to work with them,” Cann said. “It’s not giving them money up front and then hoping it’s paid on the back end, but it’s a kind of show-me situation, and then they can recoup that money.”

Cann said he hopes an investment in this business could start a trend of similar deals with other businesses.

“The hope is that as this business kind of transforms and improves the interior and exterior of this building, that others will kind of take the lead that’s been shown and come to us and either say, ‘what about us?’ which we would be willing to entertain, or just looking at their own building and saying, ‘what can we do?’” Cann said.

Five village trustees voiced support for the plan Tuesday, Cann said.

Hamdan said besides getting the incentive deal finalized, his next steps include obtaining all the permits needed to begin construction for the renovations approved. He said the renovations could take four to six months.

awright@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/mokena-furniture-liquidator-tax-incentive/