The proposal to use tax increment financing to help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall has easily sailed through the approval process so far, and the project faces a crucial vote at tonight’s Oak Ridge City Council meeting.
The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County operations and budget committees have already unanimously endorsed the tax increment financing, or TIF. The agreement could be worth $13 million and last 20 years, and it would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs.
The redevelopment of the mostly empty mall, where ambitious revamping plans have languished for years, has been proposed by Crosland Southeast, a North Carolina company relatively new to this project. Under the tax financing agreement, new property taxes collected in the TIF district could be used to reimburse Crosland Southeast for certain expenses associated with the project.
The redeveloped 59-acre site could open in 2016, create an estimated 950 to 1,000 new jobs, and increase city and county sales tax revenues by about $2.16 million. The enclosed mall would be converted into an open-air, retail-driven, mixed-use property that could include 400,000 square feet of retail space and roughly 60,000 to 100,000 square feet of office space, a hotel of about 100 to 120 rooms, and up to 50 multi-family, “walkable†residential units. It could also include three to four restaurants.
Tonight’s City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Building Courtroom. Read the agenda here.
The TIF agreement is scheduled to be considered by the Anderson County Commission at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.
Visit here to read the Crosland Southeast “talking points” on the mall TIF and redevelopment.
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