Commission updated on progress

Portland Redevelopment Commission received updates this morning on several projects it has in the works.

Consultant Ed Curtin of CWC Latitudes informed the commission about the state of the processes of forming both a residential tax increment financing (TIF) district and a riverfront district. The redevelopment commission had approved moving forward with both at its April meeting.

By creating a residential TIF district — the city already has a commercial TIF district that the redevelopment commission oversees — the commission could capture increased taxes on new housing developments. That money could then be used by the redevelopment commission to incentivize developers by defraying the cost of infrastructure or other elements of a housing project.

Curtin said a couple of developers have already expressed interest and that he is awaiting more details about their plans.

He also noted that he is planning to schedule a meeting with school officials to discuss the benefits of residential TIF district. (School boards essentially have veto power over the creation of such districts.)

“We really want to start that conversation fairly early and walk them through what we can do and why this is an opportunity, to see if there’s an opportunity for some middle ground that benefits both the school corporation and the city,” said Curtin.

He also presented the redevelopment commission, which is made up of Rusty Inman, Joe Johnston, Dave Teeter, Reda Theurer-Miller and Mike Simons, with draft guidelines for a riverfront district. They will review the guidelines and propose any potential changes before moving forward.

A riverfront district allows a community to provide liquor licenses beyond the standard cap, and at a lower cost, in order to spur restaurant development. The entity overseeing the riverfront district (in this case, Portland Redevelopment Commission) can set standards for the businesses that obtain those licenses, which cannot be sold or transferred.

“It’s about business development,” Curtin said.

The decision to establish both a residential TIF district and a riverfront district would ultimately be up to Portland City Council.