Potential $2M office/commercial business has Centerville pitching TIF to school board

Credit: FILE

Credit: FILE

$2 million in potential development on city-owned land has the Centerville school board set tonight to discuss a possible Tax Increment Financing district.

The Centerville City Schools Board of Education is expected to talk about the TIF proposed on 7.5 acres of vacant land the city owns at the southeast corner of Yankee Street and Social Row Road.

The city is negotiating with “a first end user of the property” that would involve a “mix of office and commercial uses,” Centerville Development Director Michael Norton-Smith said.

Plans show two buildings — including one labeled as a possible restaurant — for the site. This news organization has requested city records involving the business interested in that land.

Total estimated development cost is $2 million and the site can accommodate 75,000 square feet, Centerville records show.

The city is considering the TIF to generate revenue for future public improvements, documents state.

A TIF is an economic development mechanism for local governments to finance public infrastructure improvements, according to the state.

A TIF locks in the taxable worth of real property at the value it holds at the time the authorizing legislation was approved, records show.

Payments from the increased assessed value of any improvement to real property beyond that amount are directed toward a separate fund to finance the construction of public infrastructure, according to the state.

The board of education is set to meet at 7 p.m. in the South Unit Commons of Centerville High School, 500 E. Franklin St.

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