Note: This story was updated at 11:16 p.m.
An Oak Ridge board has endorsed a 90 percent, 10-year tax break for a project to convert the vacant, run-down Alexander Inn into an assisted living center.
The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board recommended the tax break, officially known as a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, in a 6-0 vote during a special meeting Thursday. It will now be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Oct. 22.
Even with the temporary tax break, Oak Ridge and Anderson County will continue to receive at least as much in property taxes as they do now, said Ray Evans, an economic development consultant for the city.
The project to redevelop the two-story hotel on three acres in Jackson Square has been proposed by Family Pride Corp. of Loudon and InSite Development Corp. of Knoxville.
Construction of the $4.5 million, 60-unit assisted living center could take roughly a year.
The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, or PILOT, could help with public improvements that include a new road for cars that now drive through the Alexander Inn property, relocation of a storm sewer under the building, environmental remediation, building stabilization, and code compliance. Family Pride has said the project is not economically feasible without the tax break.
