Posted: Dec. 23, 2009

Whitefish Bay — Bakery-restaurant chain City Market will likely open a fourth store in the village's Silver Spring shopping district, following action by the Village Board on Monday.

After deliberating in closed session, Village Manager Jim Grassman said the board agreed to offer City Market an $85,000 grant and a $15,000 loan for refurbishments to an aging building at 327 E. Silver Spring Drive. The building once housed a Mike Crivello camera store.

The building is within a tax-incremental financing district, and TIF funds will be used to provide the financial assistance to City Market officials.

TIF is a mechanism that allows municipalities to borrow money for infrastructure improvements. The increased property tax revenue from the improved land is then diverted from the tax rolls to pay off the loan.

City Market could fill a void in the shopping district after a number of eateries - including Heinemann's and Ciao Café - have left the area in recent years.

"We hope it will bring a tremendous added value to Silver Spring," Grassman said. "The contributions we're making will help make it a success."

Grassman said the village and City Market officials are still hammering out a development agreement for the site. Once the agreement is consummated, the arrangement will be finalized.

"We hope to have that done very soon," Grassman said. "(City Market officials) want to close on it by the end of the year."

City Market operates two stores in Wauwatosa and one in Shorewood.

- Dave Fidlin