Huntsville's TIF D8 aims to boost manufacturing
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Limestone County has to approve the plan as well. Photo: Derek Lacey/Axios
Huntsville will pursue $230 million in mainly infrastructure upgrades with its latest Tax Increment Financing district, TIF D8.
Why it matters: Huntsville is paving the way for an industrial boom west of the airport, an area city leaders see as the next big growth corridor.
Catch up quick: At its meeting last week, Huntsville City Council reviewed 11 projects it plans to fund with proceeds from the TIF, which isn't a new tax but a funding mechanism to capture future tax increases to finance debt service.
- Those projects are mainly road improvements and relocations, including $50 million to widen Swancott Road, $40 million to relocate and upgrade County Line Road and $15 million for improvements at Interstate 565's Exit 3.
- The city will spend $40 million on a new K-8 school, $15 million for roads to support it, $15 million for sanitary sewer upgrades and $5 million for improvements at Fire Station 18.
- See the full list from the city here.
Driving the news: The 9,000-acre TIF district differs from most others the city has created, relying instead on the Major 21st Century Manufacturing Zone Act.
- Shane Davis, director of urban and economic development, told the council that the site of Eli Lilly's planned facility is the zone designated by this TIF.
- Among the 11 projects the TIF funds is $22 million for the purchase of property to accommodate the zone.
What they're saying: Davis told Axios that the city doesn't expect tax revenues from the planned $6 billion Eli Lilly project to be able to finance the TIF's projects alone.
- "This is a short window that we're going to capture some property taxes that's now going to produce [3 to 7 times tax revenue] annually," Davis told the council. "To me, it's like planting a new orchard. It will bear a lot of fruit that will get spread across the community."
What's next: Huntsville City Council plans to vote to approve the TIF on Oct. 8, but the district will first need approval from the Limestone County Commission, with a vote scheduled for Oct. 5.