Agenda - 05-18-2010 - 8b - Laserfiche WebLink

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Levengood 5 A case that demonstrates this problem is the failed "Carolina Crossroads" TIF in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Situated on a 123 -acre mostly greenfield site, the 2007 project was to become an entertainment destination to lead the economic revival of northeast North Carolina. The district would include its centerpiece, a country music theater operated by Randy Parton, as well as an amphitheater, numerous hotels and retail stores, a billiards center, water park, and aquarium (Roanoke Rapids TIF Summary). Despite the city borrowing $21.5 to fund the project, as of 2009, only the theater, an RV park, amphitheater, and one hotel had been constructed. The theater has suffered mismanagement and was never able to attract the musical acts or audience the city and had envisioned (Capitol Monitor 2009). Though the district failed to prosper largely due to management issues, its use of TIF was supported by economic impact analysis and was not an entirely bad plan (j. Morgan, personal communication, December 4, 2009). That said, the expectation that the site would become an entertainment destination for the state is dubious, and ultimately the city's risk was not rewarded. Chesterfield Valley, MO Unlike in rural areas, TIFs in suburban jurisdictions are troubling, not because of potential failure, but due to near certain success. Though this may seem like a positive characteristic, the critiques against traditional urban redevelopment TIFs become more acute in the suburban context. "But for" is even harder to prove, as suburban development in growing cities is very likely to occur without incentives, and channeling of investment from elsewhere is particularly troubling in the suburbs because it comes at a cost to inner city revitalization. The most criticized suburban TIFs have been those developed to accommodate specific retailers. hi Forth Worth, Texas, for example, one TIF was created on suburban greenfield to lure a Cabela's sporting store (McGraw 2006). This form of incentivizing has been common in St. Louis as well, where "most TIF projects occur in wealthy suburban malls to help developers offset high land prices" (LeRoy 5). Even when these outcomes are not explicitly planned, a sprawling retail zone may result. One notable example is Chesterfield Valley, Missouri. At the suburban fringe of St. Louis, Chesterfield Valley suffered severe flooding in 1993 that rendered its lightly developed floodplain a greenfield. To induce development in the area, the city created a TIF, and through bonds financed a reinforced 500 -year levee, a highway exit, and various site improvements (Hesler 2003). Chesterfield Valley's location in the path of impending suburbanization allowed the TIF to become hugely successful; it is now home to what is reputed to be the world's longest strip mall, as well as other properties including office buildings (Thomton