Board of Trade TIF plan goes to City Council

So how big is this TIF district going to be? They are seldom only for the one building, and seem to have a way of extending themselves or redeveloping themselves to last much longer than intended. If the developers are already getting tax breaks from state and federal grants how much more do they need!?!? Duluth is going to be one HUGE TIF district, DEDA will have lots of money in their coffers and the citizens will either be heading to bankruptcy court or out of the state as their taxes continue to rise. Someone has to pay for all the freebies the city government wants to give people.

Thank you for the comments. My understanding is that this particular TIF district is, in fact, drawn around the one building only.

Another way to look at this project, and many like it, is that nearly $9 million in federal and state income taxes and local property taxes will be foregone in order to build 17 units of affordable housing in Duluth. This would be sufficient to purchase 150 small homes or condos for persons who would benefit from the affordable units. The system is broken.

How can some of you people be so naive? The city for the next 25 years or so will still get the $20,000 a year in property tax (as they are getting now). In 25 years the city will get the 100,000/200,000 in property tax. So where’s the free hand out? These guys are putting their units on the line and you say it’s a free ride.
I’ll say this, don’t do anything to the building for 25 years, let it rot away and drag the rest of the neighborhood down with it, or just tear it down and the city for the non-betterment of the ignorant citizens can collect 1.000 dollars a year on the empty lot. Some people are so stupid. Read the article if you can read!

@JimWhitlock-While I agree that this is one of the few good uses of TIF dollars in recent history, your ad hominem attacks in your comments ruins any credibility your comment may have had.

There is actually another benefit to this project *if* it works. They are putting in more housing for middle class people where they will be relatively close to their jobs and businesses. I live about a quarter of a mile away from this building and we have an issue in the Hillside and downtown housing where there is an overly high concentration of low-income housing. I am not saying that Duluth has too much low income housing, I am saying that the core neighborhoods of Duluth are full. We have done our part. I think that we probably need another 300 – 500 low income housing units but they should be spread throughout the community. In developments like this middle class and wealthier folks will have a chance to live side by side with poor people and if the building is run properly and managed by people who live on site and are invested in the community I think some of the fruits of this project will be that the people see that it is kind of awesome to live in a vibrant, diverse environment.

So I am usually majorly skeptical of TIF projects because so much tax revenue is forfeit and it kind of is corporate welfare for rich developers and the banks that finance them. BUT in this case I support it. And I love that they are doing a mix of housing, offices and retail or whatever. If it was a plan to put in 50 low-income housing units I would oppose it. Yes, we do need way more low-income housing, but it needs to be available in every neighborhood so that low-income people have the opportunity to live in those areas, to utilize the amenities that are available there, and to send their kids to whatever school is in that neighborhood, too.