Village plans to help Southridge Mall with a $52.5 million renovation got final approval Wednesday. 

The village's Joint Review Board voted unanimously to approve a $15.85 million tax incremental financing district that will give mall-owner Simon Property Group $10 million in developer incentives to renovate Southridge. The massive building project is expected to create 100 new jobs and bring a new anchor store to the state's largest shopping center. 

The Joint Review Board approved the plan Wednesday with little discussion.  Board members included Superintendent William Hughes of the Greendale School District, Village President John R. Hermes, Tim Russell of Milwaukee County, and Gregg Meyer as Citizen Representive. Milwaukee Area Technical College representative James Williams was not present.

The board's vote was the final approval needed to create the TIF district. Village trustees gave their approval at their meeting Tuesday night. The vote was unanimous. 

The Greendale School District voted to support the plan, introduced six weeks ago, at its Dec. 13 meeting. 

The TIF district means additional property taxes created by improvements to Southridge Mall--the largest in the state--will go to paying back costs related to the development. Estimated project costs include $10 million in developer incentives for mall-owner Simon Property Group, $5 million in interest costs on the loan, $600,000 for roadwork and utility improvements, and $250,000 in administrative costs. 

Along with improving the mall, the project is designed to connect the massive shopping complex with Greendale's Village Center. It also includes plans for a 75-unit residential housing project. Each unit will be valued at approximately $65,000. 

The Southridge Mall renovation, which is expected t0 include a new anchor store, is expected to create 100 jobs. The current mall anchors are Kohl's, Sears, J.C. Penney and Boston Store. At a Dec. 1 meeting there was talk of a Macy's department store occupying the former Younkers space.

At Tuesday night's board meeting Trustee Sally A. Chadwick extended her appreciation to Village President John R. Hermes.

"I'd like thank John for his effortless efforts in moving this project forward. We are grateful and there were a lot of people involved," she said. "I really want to thank you."

Hermes expressed his gratitude as well and the importance of approving the TIF district.

"This is truly a big day as far as moving our financial stability forward," he said. "I thank the board, the planning commission, the CBA, and the administrative staff for their efforts in this. It's been a long haul to get to this point and we have a long way to go. This is a significant, very significant first step."