TERRE HAUTE —
The Terre Haute City Council approved a 10-year real property tax abatement Thursday for Warren Village, L.P., a planned low- to moderate-income housing development at the site of the former Warren School on North 25th Street.
The abatement, worth an estimated $475,974 over the next 10 years, was approved unanimously by the seven members of the nine-member council present at the 6 p.m. monthly meeting.
Last year, city officials, including the City Council, gave their seal of approval to the Warren Village project, which was being coordinated by the Terre Haute Housing Authority. Those approvals helped secure government funding for the project, Housing Authority officials said at the time.
Warren Village will include 24 housing units in the existing Warren School building, which is at 1300 N. 25th St. An additional 87 units will be built in the building’s rear.
Warren Village will pay an estimated $542,019 in real property taxes over the life of the abatement. Typically, real property tax abatements forgive about half of the property taxes due during a 10-year period.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $10 to $12 million, said Lou Britton, who spoke to the council about the project at last week’s “sunshine” meeting and at Thursday’s regular meeting.
The former Warren School, which dates back to around 1914, closed in 2000. Its students were redistricted to Lost Creek and Meadows elementary schools. The building, which is currently vacant, was sold by the Vigo County School Corp. to a private owner in 2002 for $35,001. The current owners are Tim and Jacqueline Fortune of Terre Haute, according to the abatement application.
• In other business, the council voted unanimously to authorize the creation of a “Terre Haute Arts Cultural District” downtown.
The council’s stamp of approval is just one of many steps required by the state of Indiana when certifying a “cultural district,” said Pat Martin, city planner. Other Indiana cities with such districts include Bloomington, Lafayette and Carmel, Martin said.
There is no state funding that comes with the distinction. However, benefits include increased tourism marketing and economic activities that come with being part of a “branded program” with a statewide emphasis, according to the state’s website. The cultural district also opens the door for potential future artisan grants and allows the city to apply for highway signs advertising the district, Martin said.
The cultural district includes the Seventh Street Arts Corridor from the Vigo County Public Library to the northern edge of the Indiana State University campus. It also covers other parts of the downtown that include buildings such as the new Barnes and Noble bookstore, Hulman Center, the former YMCA, Clabber Girl and the Hippodrome Theatre.
Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at 812-231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
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