Minutes 05-15-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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preferred over the state statutory because it uses a standard method, which looks more solid because it is backed by an asset. Commissioner Rich said the way the tax base is being projected is based on how the Town sees the project growing, and then the Town Hall is being used as a backup asset. She asked if this is correct. Ken Pennoyer said based on re-zoning, staff has come up with a likely development scenario with two phases. He said the first phase is based on actual development plans, and the future phase is based on what the Town believes the zoning will enable and what can happen based on current knowledge of the market. He said the financing plan utilizes the installment financing combined with Town Hall to provide collateral. Commissioner Rich referred to a similar project in Bloomington that was very successful. She asked Dwight Bassett to comment on this. Dwight Bassett said Bloomington, Indiana, as well as Asheville and Carrboro, N.C. all have synthetic Tax Increment Financing (TIF) projects that are very successful. He said in Bloomington, the base value of the land was estimated at $1 million, and after development it was $10 million. He said the taxes on the $9 million difference were pledged back in to pay for roads, lighting and improvements. He said they got back more than the amount spent, and a TIF was put over the entirety of the downtown and it generates new revenue to be put back into infrastructure. He said there were similar projects in Asheville and in Carrboro with the development of 300 East Main. Commissioner Pelissier asked for clarification on the number of new residential units there will be. She would also like to know about the phasing of the commercial portion. Dwight Bassett said there are two developments that will happen in the first four years of the development. He said 235 residential units and 15,000 square feet of retail space will be built on the former movie theater site on Elliott Road. He said the former Colony apartments, which currently has 109 units, is projected to grow to 175 units. He said the residential is coming first because the market plays a tremendous role in development, and multifamily housing is the easiest of all commercial tax based projects to finance. He believes the retail and office space will likely happen faster than projected. He said the projections have been conservative because there are some issues with existing leases. Commissioner Price asked who the Town is expecting to attract to this new re- development. She is thinking about the school projections. Dwight Bassett said based on other projects, they would be looking at about 100 students. He said there is a strong population of residents in their 20's who come for school and then leave after graduation because the Town does not meet their lifestyle choices. He said many of these residents do not want to be homeowners, but the desire is to be in a place where they can live, work and play. He believes that half of the residential units would be for that demographic of residents aged 20-40, and the goal would be to create a live, work and play district. He said the hope is that this will stop some of the brain drain of folks leaving to seek employment elsewhere. Commissioner Price asked how the flooding issues will be mitigated when adding the additional development. Dwight Bassett said there needs to be a higher level of standard to manage the quality of the impervious services. He said $1 million has been set aside and the town has applied for a $15 million grant to look at the overall storm water master plan and the flood basin. Bob Jessup said the stormwater staff from Chapel Hill has pointed out that almost the entire district is already impervious, and this will not increase the amount of impervious surface by more than 1-2 percent. He said the goal will be to improve on what is already there. Commissioner Price asked if there will be any increase to the greenspace.