By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

    South Portland city councilors took a step further
in implementing a new set of tax increment financing districts (TIFs).

    Revenues generated from TIFs are kept separate from
the general fund and must only be used for economic development
purposes. The three TIFs before the council on Monday night would fund
projects in those districts as well as projects throughout the city.
The council unanimously approved the economic strategy plan for the
city at the Feb. 5 meeting and TIFs are one way of funding that plan.

    One of the reasons for holding Monday night’s
workshop was to discuss and review drafts of the TIF applications for
the Jared Jewelry TIF, the Hannaford Brothers TIF, and the Downtown
South Portland TIF.

    Joan Fortin, of Bernstein Shur, assisted the city in
composing the applications as a subcontractor to Planning Decisions.
Fortin was joined at the workshop by Chuck Lawton, of Planning
Decisions; Bob O’Brien, chair of the TIF committee; and Tex Haeuser,
the city’s Planning and Development Director.

    In presenting the applications, Fortin said, “We
tried to paint a picture for the DECD (Maine Department of Economic and
Community Development) because they approve the TIF.”

    The Jared TIF will be the first to be established in
the new Maine Mall Improvement Sector. The TIF will reserve
approximately $2 million in new property value from the redevelopment
of the former gas station. Future projects built in the sector will add
millions of dollars or more of new valuation. Future TIF applications
will be brought before the council and the DECD and with approval, will
be added to the TIF fund for the Maine Mall.

    The Hannaford Brothers TIF will capture
approximately $13 million in new property value from the Dairy Goods
renovation and a Dry Goods expansion at the Hannaford Brothers
Distribution Facility in the Rummery Industrial Park. It is the first
of several proposed TIFs for the Rigby Railyard sector.

    Finally, the Downtown TIF will differ from the
previous TIFs in that it is exempt from a statutory cap that states no
more than five percent of a community’s land can be in a TIF
district.  All of the Knightville Creek area will be included in
the TIF from the beginning, thus future developments will not require
new TIF applications. The value figures for this TIF have not yet been
determined. The Jared and Hannaford TIFs will both be diverting funds
to the Downtown district

     Fortin said the TIF applications were
accompanied by a project list for all three TIFs that would demonstrate
which TIF would fund each project. The council would decide year to
year what projects would be funded by TIF funds. Projects inside the
Maine Mall area would include, but not be limited to, improving
pedestrian transportation by adding sidewalks and pedestrian passages,
improving vehicular transportation by adding signage and creating a
two-way access between the I-95 spur and the mall, improving green
spaces by updating parks and trails, and storm water improvements.

    Projects for the Downtown district would include
improving vehicular transport at the certain intersections including
Broadway and Route 77, Broadway and Cottage Road, and Mahoney School
and Mill Creek Park. Improvements would also be made to the Broadway
and Main Street cross-town corridors.

    Infrastructure improvements for the Downtown
district would include improvements to parking, paving, lighting, and
curbing.

    Other projects include updating parks and trails,
creating a mixed-use commercial/cultural center, and creating a fund
for a permanent economic development revolving loan.