Stacking three Illinois incentives — and expanding a zone — to fund a $27M grain elevator
A greenfield elevator sat just outside an Illinois Enterprise Zone. Prosody expanded the zone, stacked three incentives, won approvals across nine taxing authorities, and added savings after close — on a $27M+ transaction.
At a glance
DeBruce Grain set out to build a greenfield grain elevator — a transaction valued at more than $27 million — but the chosen site sat just outside the boundary of the existing Illinois Enterprise Zone, and holdco-level leverage put debt-incentive programs out of scope. Prosody Consulting found a path anyway: a three-part Enterprise Zone package, an expansion of the zone itself, and approvals coordinated across nine taxing authorities.
“Charles Brettell is the best consultant I have worked with — period. I have recommended him to many of my business contacts and will continue to do so without reservation.” — Paul DeBruce, Founder & CEO, DeBruce Grain
The challenge
The project was strong, but two facts complicated the capital strategy: debt programs were unavailable because of leverage at the holding-company level, and the site fell outside the existing incentive zone. Either could have quietly shrunk the project’s benefits. Solving them meant working the program rules and the local politics at the same time.
What Prosody did
Found a three-part incentive package. Prosody identified a three-pronged program under Illinois law — an investment tax credit, a local property-tax abatement, and a sales/use-tax exemption — that fit the project without relying on debt incentives.
Expanded the zone. Because the site was outside the existing zone, Prosody negotiated with county officials to apply for an expansion of the zone through the state — moving the boundary to the project rather than the project to the boundary.
Won approvals across nine authorities. Prosody led a simultaneous effort to secure project-benefit approvals with nine separate taxing authorities and gave feedback to in-house and outside counsel on the program and project documents.
Kept working after close. Prosody led a post-close compliance effort that produced substantial additional savings from a contested tax assessment.
The outcome
The package was secured, the zone was expanded to capture the site, and the post-close work added savings beyond the original approvals. For a client who could not lean on debt incentives, the incentive stack became the difference in how the project penciled.
Why it matters
The best capital answer is often a combination, not a single program — and sometimes it requires changing the facts on the ground, like moving a zone boundary. That takes program fluency and the credibility to negotiate with the public officials who control the outcome.
That is the standard Prosody brings to every project: find the capital that fits, make the case that holds up, and run it to close.
Prosody Consulting advises agriculture and infrastructure clients on incentive strategy and economic-development structuring. To discuss your project, request a consultation.