Kendall Yard moves forward
The Spokane City Council is ready to approve tax subsidies for a proposed 78-acre development near downtown.
A majority of council members told Council President Joe Shogan on Friday that they support a $25 million tax plan for the Kendall Yards development. The public won’t offer testimony until May 14.
Shogan said he polled the council on Friday about the proposed “tax-increment financing” district. That was prompted by Kendall Yards developer Marshall Chesrown, who left a voice mail that Mayor Dennis Hession described as “anxious” over a Thursday meeting in which some council members questioned details of the proposal.
“We’ve always made it pretty clear that the TIF (tax-increment financing) is central for Kendall Yards to going forward,” said Kendall Yards Project Manager Tom Reese.
Some council members said Chesrown’s concern was overblown and that they were only doing due diligence when they were briefed about the tax plan.
The council would create the district for the proposed residential and commercial development north of the Spokane River and west of Monroe Street. But the district would also extend into older neighborhoods north to Boone Avenue, with tentacles reaching farther north along Monroe Street and the Maple and Ash corridor.
Where Kendall Yards would be built, the land now is bare.
Under the tax proposal, the developer would pay upfront for the streets, sewers and other infrastructure he needs. As the tax values on that property and the new buildings increases, 75 percent of the additional taxes would be returned to Chesrown to refund him for those infrastructure costs.
Seventy-five percent of new property-tax collections from the older neighborhoods would go toward improvements in those areas. Among the possibilities are new small parks.
It’s not been decided how the city would get the upfront financing for those improvements; it could issue bonds to be repaid through tax growth.
Taxes collected for schools would not be affected.
At a hearing Monday, city economic development adviser Cody George said $20 million to $25 million could flow back to Kendall Yards over the 25 years the district would exist. That’s about half of the estimated cost of infrastructure needed for Kendall Yards.
About $2.5 million could be generated for older areas in the district, George predicted.
Supporters note that the infrastructure funded by the diverted taxes would be owned by the public anyway. They say that the project would spur job growth and tax revenue in the long run.
“The developer is extremely frustrated with how long it seems to be taking to get through the city’s process,” said Councilman Al French. “We’re comfortable with moving forward. There had to be some education that had to take place.”
Opponents, such as county Treasurer Skip Chilberg, say Chesrown likely would build the project with or without the subsidies.
Reese wouldn’t say what might happen to Kendall Yards if the plan failed.
“We would have to evaluate all of our options at the point,” he said.
On Thursday, some council members said they were surprised that the district would last 25 years instead of 20, as previously discussed. Proponents say the extension is needed because not much would be collected in early years, when construction is just beginning.