News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Local & Bistate

June 21, 2012

Commission hears report on health of TIF districts

TERRE HAUTE — Terre Haute’s various Tax Increment Finance districts are financially “healthy,” local officials were told Wednesday.

Jason Semler with H.J. Umbaugh & Associates of Indianapolis presented a review of the four city TIF districts to the five-member Terre Haute Redevelopment Commission, which oversees the districts.

“In all of your areas, you’re doing well,” Semler told the four commissioners present for Wednesday’s meeting in City Hall.

The city’s Indiana 46 TIF district, which includes the eastside Walmart, is approaching the need to pay off bond anticipation notes issued to help develop roads and other infrastructure in that area, Semler said. While paying those off – by issuing bonds – the commission may want to consider borrowing an additional $4 million to help finance second-phase developments and perhaps another project in that area, said Cliff Lambert, executive director of the Department of Redevelopment. That would require City Council approval, he noted.

Meanwhile, the city’s downtown central business TIF district is “a very healthy area,” Semler said. Good infrastructure and a well-established business area have helped stabilize property values downtown, he said.

Semler discussed a “hypothetical” new bond issue of $5 million for downtown. In response to a question from commissioner Brian Conley, Lambert said that figure reflects potential new projects for the downtown TIF area, possibly launching later this summer or fall.

TIF districts are special taxing areas created by local governments. Once established, any new real property taxes generated in a TIF district are “captured” by the Redevelopment Commission for reinvestment within the district. In Terre Haute, personal property taxes are not “captured” by the TIF, Lambert noted.

Outstanding bond debt in the city’s TIF districts is being covered solely by new property tax dollars from within those districts, officials said. In most cases, private property developers are “on the hook” if there is not enough TIF revenue generated to cover the debt service, Semler said. In each TIF area, the Redevelopment Department has enough funds to make 18 months of payments in the event of a shortfall, Lambert noted.

n Also Wednesday, the commission approved plans to move forward with the sale of about one acre of land at 13th Street and College Avenue, a former industrial brownfield site. The sale price will be the average of two appraisals of the property, officials said.

n Finally, Redevelopment officials are seeking state grant money to help finance 11 new low-income housing units on the city’s central east side.

Last year, the city opened 28 new residential units for low-income families through the Indiana Neighborhood Stabilization Program. At that time, Terre Haute was recognized as the first city in Indiana to complete the NSP program.

Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local & Bistate
Latest News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
AP Video
Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska Raw: Massive Protests Fill Brazilian Streets Fans Cheer Dramatic Heat Comeback Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles Tiger on Sergio: 'It's Time to Move On' Raw: Car Jumps Curb in NYC, Injures 8 3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter Raw: NASCAR Driver Jason Leffler Dies in Wreck Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park Raw: German President Welcomes President Obama Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin Suicide Bombs Target Baghdad Mosque, Killing 29 Failed Cuba-to-Florida Swimmer Won't Try Again Today in History June 19 Obama: Friction in Afghan Talks No Surprise Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions
NDN Video
Rihanna Hits Fan With Microphone Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions Exclusive: Locklear & Seymour Lock Lips Miami Heat Wins in Overtime Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles Fists, chairs fly in restaurant brawl Journalist Michael Hastings Dies in Fiery Hollywood Crash Hairy Leg Stockings Aim to Deflect Male Attention Inside Kim Kardashian's Premature Labor Three Charged for Enslaving Mother and Daughter Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park Spurs' Popovich has no problem with Spurs' intensity RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled Paige Butcher Scorches on Hawaii Beach Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane Never-before-seen footage of '08 Times Square bomber Obama: NSA Secret Data Gathering 'Transparent' WATCH IT: Lil Wayne tramples American flag Mariah Carey Looks Beautiful in a Tiny Cut-Out Swimsuit Out of Control Boat Throws Passengers Overboard
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

     

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News