property tax revenues Archives

Four new stores at Main Street could generate more than $600,000 in tax revenues, city says

Posted at 1:32 pm April 24, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A revised master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission was to discuss the proposed revisions during a work session on Thursday, April 11, 2019.

The four new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could create 150 jobs and generate more than $600,000 in sales and property tax revenues for Oak Ridge and Anderson County, according to calculations by the city’s economic development consultant.

The estimated new revenues could include $572,096 in sales tax revenues and $116,965 in property tax revenues for Oak Ridge and Anderson County, according to the calculations. The portion of new sales tax revenues for just Oak Ridge could total $385,158, according to the calculations.

The four new stores are part of a revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

A new version of that plan is scheduled to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. The economic benefit calculations for the new stores are included in the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

Here is the specific breakdown of the economic benefits of the four new stores, which could total 75,000 square feet, according to the calculations:

[Read more…]

Council rejects revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge

Posted at 6:40 pm January 16, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed revised plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

Note: This story was last updated at 1 a.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday narrowly rejected a revised plan that would have allowed four national retailers to build stores at Main Street Oak Ridge.

The Council had unanimously approved a revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, subject to certain conditions, in December. That was the first of two readings.

But Council rejected the plan in a 4-3 vote in the second and final reading on Monday.

The rejection hinged on concerns that included the closure of an access road to the 58-acre site, the movement of mixed-use areas to a future phase along Wilson Street, and questions about whether there are other site plan options and whether the development would or should establish a “city center.” People who rejected the revised plan or asked Council to reject it said they support the development and want continued negotiations with RealtyLink, the developer. But it wasn’t immediately clear this week if that will happen.

Those who had supported the revised plan, on the other hand, warned that rejecting it could affect funding for Oak Ridge and Anderson County governments and school systems by diminishing expected sales and property tax revenues, possibly in the range of several hundred thousand dollars. They worried about the impact on the city’s retail community, property tax values, and new housing developments. They called the project a “once in a generation” opportunity and said it could be a few decades before another similar proposal emerges.

It’s not clear what will happen next or if there is any solution that will be acceptable to both RealtyLink and the planning commissioners and City Council members who opposed the revised plan. On Tuesday, three people involved in the project, including RealtyLink, said there is no other design, no “plan B.”

“We’ve worked for six months to get to where we are,” said Neil Wilson, principal of RealtyLink in Greenville, South Carolina. “We didn’t get what we wanted, and they didn’t get what they wanted.”

He said the four national tenants were notified Tuesday that Council rejected the proposed changes to the planned unit development for Main Street Oak Ridge. The potential tenants will be notified if something changes. [Read more…]

County Commission to consider OR mall TIF, District 4 appointment

Posted at 12:21 pm October 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

The Anderson County Commission will consider extending the tax increment financing agreement for the former Oak Ridge Mall from 20 years to 30 on Monday morning.

The Anderson County Operations Committee recommended approving the 10-year TIF extension during a meeting last week. The TIF would use new property tax revenues generated at the mall site and 120 surrounding acres included in the TIF area to help pay for the redevelopment. [Read more…]

Anderson committee to consider tax agreement for OR mall redevelopment

Posted at 3:45 pm October 12, 2014
By John Huotari 1 Comment

It’s already been approved by the Oak Ridge City Council, and a 10-year extension of the $13 million tax agreement that could be used to help redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall will next be considered by Anderson County officials.

The agreement will be considered by the Anderson County Operations Committee on Monday evening. It could then be considered by the full Anderson County Commission later this month.

Like Oak Ridge officials, Anderson County officials will consider extending the tax agreement for the 59-acre project by 10 years—from 20 years to 30.

Officials have described the proposed redevelopment, named Main Street Oak Ridge, as an $80 million project that could fill a “hole in the heart” of Oak Ridge, bring new retail life to the city’s downtown, and build a lasting legacy. [Read more…]

State comptroller approves $13 million agreement for Oak Ridge Mall

Posted at 4:43 pm February 8, 2014
By John Huotari 2 Comments

The Tennessee Comptroller has approved the use of a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above.

The Tennessee Comptroller has approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall.

The approval was announced in a Wednesday letter from Tennessee Comptroller Justin P. Wilson to Nashville law firm Bradley, Arant, Boult, and Cummings, which is working with Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the mostly empty mall.

The 20-year tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement, would use new property tax revenues generated at the 59-acre site to help pay for development costs, possibly including tearing down the existing space between the two remaining anchor stores, JCPenney and Belk, as well as for replacing aging infrastructure and building new roads. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission unanimously approves Oak Ridge Mall TIF, project goes to state

Posted at 7:29 pm November 18, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help the $85 million redevelopment of the mostly empty Oak Ridge Mall.

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help the $85 million redevelopment of the mostly empty Oak Ridge Mall.

The vote was 15-0. Anderson County Commissioner Mark Alderson was absent.

“I am extremely optimistic about this,” said Anderson County Commission Vice Chair Robin Biloski, an Oak Ridge resident.

It’s the fifth unanimous or near-unanimous vote on the project in less than a month. The tax increment financing, or TIF, had also been approved with no opposition, but with one abstention, by the Oak Ridge City Council, and it had also been endorsed with no opposition by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and Anderson County budget and operations committees. [Read more…]

Letter: Mall nullification proposal would make TIF loan impossible to finance

Posted at 1:33 pm November 16, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Letters Leave a Comment

James Murphy, center, is a Nashville attorney representing Oak Ridge Mall redeveloper Crosland Southeast. Also pictured during a recent public hearing are Ray Evans, right, Oak Ridge economic development consultant; and Tim Sittema, a Crosland Southeast partner.

Note: This Nov. 14 e-mail from an attorney representing mall redeveloper Crosland Southeast was written in response to a nullification proposal submitted by Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn to Anderson County officials.

I represent Crosland in connection with the proposed Economic Impact Plan for the Redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall Economic Development Area (the “Economic Impact Plan”). The Economic Impact Plan has been approved by the Industrial Development Board of the City of Oak Ridge (the “IDB”) and the City Council for the City of Oak Ridge, and it is on the agenda for the Nov. 18 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Anderson County. I would like to respond to Ms. Baughn’s suggestion that the tax increment financing (“TIF”) funding for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall be nullified if at least 65 percent of the planned new retail square footage is not completed by December 2018.

As has been explained by Ray Evans in the meetings of the Anderson County Operations Committee and the Budget Committee, the proposed redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall requires a public-private partnership. After carefully reviewing the project’s pro forma, the city officials who have been involved in negotiating the incentives with Crosland were convinced that there was a funding gap of $13 million that could be bridged by the use of the TIF funding. Without that $13 million in TIF funding, the project would not go forward. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge City Council approves $13 million tax financing for mall redevelopment

Posted at 10:10 pm November 11, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council voted 6-0 on Monday to approve a $13 million proposal to use new property tax revenues to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above. The white-roofed building at center left is Walmart and the one at center top is the Cinemark Tinseltown theater.

The Oak Ridge City Council voted 6-0 on Monday to approve a $13 million proposal to use new property tax revenues to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall.

There was one abstention. The near-unanimous approval by Council continues a string of successes for the proposed redevelopment.

Known as tax increment financing, or a TIF, the proposal approved by Council on Monday had already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and the Anderson County operations and budgets committees. It will next be considered by the Anderson County Commission on Monday, Nov. 18. [Read more…]

County committee to consider tax financing for Oak Ridge Mall redevelopment

Posted at 2:10 pm November 4, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Operations Committee will consider the tax financing plan for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall during a Monday evening meeting.

The tax financing agreement could be worth $13 million and last 20 years. It would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs.

The tax increment financing, or TIF, proposal has already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

It will be considered by the Operations Committee in a meeting that starts at 6 p.m. today in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. It will also be considered at 4 p.m. Thursday by the Anderson County Budget Committee; at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, by the Oak Ridge City Council; and at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, by the Anderson County Commission. [Read more…]

Mall redevelopment could cost $80 million, create close to 1,000 jobs

Posted at 9:17 am September 25, 2013
By John Huotari 104 Comments

The site plan for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall shows a multi-use, town center development with retail, office, hotel, and residential properties. (Submitted image)

The project could include retail, hotel, office, and residential properties, and generate more than $2 million per year in new city and county sales tax revenues, consultant says

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

The North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall has unveiled its site plan for the 60-acre property.

The $80 million redevelopment could include new retail, hotel, office, and residential properties. It would create almost 1,000 new jobs and increase annual city and county sales tax revenues by more than $2 million, according to an estimate by a city consultant.

The two remaining anchor stores at the 500,000-square-foot mall, JCPenney and Belk, would stay. So would Walmart and the Cinemark Tinseltown theater.

Meanwhile, the existing interior space between the anchor stores would be demolished. Previous mall redevelopment plans had also called for demolishing that interior retail space. [Read more…]

Tax financing meeting for Oak Ridge Mall postponed

Posted at 7:12 pm September 20, 2013
By John Huotari 1 Comment

A meeting to consider a tax financing agreement for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall has been postponed. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above.

The meeting to consider a tax incentive that could be used to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall has been postponed in order to allow a city board to update its policy to reflect current state law, a city consultant said Friday.

The meeting, which had been scheduled for Sept. 26, could be rescheduled two to three weeks later, economic development consultant Ray Evans said.

He said the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board has a tax increment financing, or TIF, policy that was initially enacted in 2008 and last updated in 2011. [Read more…]

Anderson budget cuts tax rate; officials assure sheriff new jailers are covered

Posted at 1:57 pm June 14, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission endorsed a budget Thursday that lowers the property tax rate, gives employees a day off, and is supposed to provide enough money to pay for jailers hired in the past year while allowing the sheriff to hire new ones for a jail addition that could open later this year.

The budget would also restore some funding for the relatively new Alternatives to Incarceration program, which Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank had proposed cutting by 80 percent, and add money to cover the cost of increased health insurance premiums for county employees.

The budget was endorsed in a 12-1-1 vote during a special meeting Thursday, the second this week. It could officially be adopted during the County Commission’s regular meeting on Monday. [Read more…]