The city of Fairborn is considering establishing a tax increment financing (TIF) district along the Interstate 675 corridor near the Ohio 444 (Broad Street) and Ohio 235 (Xenia Drive) interchanges to prepare for economic development.

Randy Groves, the city’s finance director, said an ordinance is being drafted and city council is expected to vote on it by the end of the first quarter establishing nearly 900 acres as a TIF district. Council recently approved creating the TIF fund.

Local governments use tax increment financing districts to raise money to pay for projects by using the increase in property value created by the redevelopment to channel revenue back into improvements. TIF money only can be spent on public infrastructure and development projects.

Groves said the city hasn’t projected how much money would be generated from the TIF district, but anticipates development to occur soon along those two I-675 exits that are the first exits south of Interstate 70. The earliest the city would receive collections from the TIF district is 2014, Groves said.

There are three areas that are being considered as TIF districts. They are: west of I-675 — areas A (234 acres) and B (335 acres) — between Broad Street and Xenia Drive, and area C, which is east of I-675 with the majority of the 307 acres south of Xenia Drive.

“If we get some development in area A, it will spur development in B and C, and further down into the Valle Greene and Commerce Center Blvd. area,” Groves said. “It would bring jobs to the area, which would benefit various subdivisions, sales tax, hotel taxes. Economically, it would be really big. We’ve just got to get it jump-started.”

The city hired Columbus-based GPD Group in September for nearly $50,000 to study the I-675 corridor for potential economic development. GPD Group is addressing land use, traffic control measures, regional storm water management and environmental issues, and the study is expected to be complete by April, according to City Engineer Jim Sawyer.

“It’s a diamond in the rough for the city right now,” Sawyer said. “You’ve got highway exposure, with two major interstate exits. Development is contagious. We expect over the next few years we’re going to see more and more places getting built along there.”

Chris Wimsatt, the city’s economic development director, said the city continues to have discussions with developers, and hospitality, commercial and manufacturing all are possibilities.

The first step, though, is to create the TIF district to move forward with the infrastructure improvements, he said.

“It’s got to develop into something,” Wimsatt said. “There are a lot of options, and we want to assist and make it simple if it makes sense for (developers).”

Traffic counts along that corridor were collected during a two-week period at the end of last year at 18 different locations, and that data was given to GPD Group to analyze, Sawyer said.

Sawyer said among the challenges the city faces is improving the water and sewer lines and addressing any storm water concerns in that area.

“If you look at the rest of Dayton, it’s pretty congested,” City Manager Deborah McDonnell said. “We have good opportunities there.”