Infrastructure Going In For New Morgantown Baseball Stadium and Other Developments (Charleston: sales, hotel) - City-Data Forum

CTMountaineer · 09-11-2012, 03:03 PM

It appears a new baseball stadium is coming to Morgantown!

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today announced the West Virginia Development Office has approved a new property tax increment financing ("Property Tax TIF") district and project that will authorize funding for the development of water, sewer, and other infrastructure that will support the expansion of developments near the University Towne Center located near Westover and Star City. The Monongalia County Commission had previously applied for the Property Tax TIF.

"Recently, I had the opportunity to walk the property where this development is expected to take root," Gov. Tomblin said. "This project holds great promise for better traffic flow, state-of-the-art facilities for WVU and the community, as well as retail job growth in the region. This is just the first step but it is an important step."

The project, developed by Mon-View LLC, is anticipated to facilitate economic development in excess of $100 million in retail, commercial and other development.

elewis7 · 09-11-2012, 06:58 PM

The Property Tax TIF did not require approval from the state legislature. The Sales Tax TIF does, and that won't be addressed until the legislators are back in Jan/Feb. While the Property Tax TIF was approved, the developers have stated (DP article, no link) that they would not go forward with the project until all parts are approved. That should hardly be an issue - the sales tax TIF will be approved - but you won't start seeing earth moved until March at the earliest.

elewis7 · 09-11-2012, 09:49 PM

Here's a good primer for TIF districts in general and the ongoing TIF project in Morgantown:

Tax Increment Financing Basics

GustavoFring · 09-12-2012, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctmountaineer

it appears a new baseball stadium is coming to morgantown!

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charleston, w.va. - gov. Earl ray tomblin today announced the west virginia development office has approved a new property tax increment financing ("property tax tif") district and project that will authorize funding for the development of water, sewer, and other infrastructure that will support the expansion of developments near the university towne center located near westover and star city. The monongalia county commission had previously applied for the property tax tif.

"recently, i had the opportunity to walk the property where this development is expected to take root," gov. Tomblin said. "this project holds great promise for better traffic flow, state-of-the-art facilities for wvu and the community, as well as retail job growth in the region. This is just the first step but it is an important step."

the project, developed by mon-view llc, is anticipated to facilitate economic development in excess of $100 million in retail, commercial and other development.

socialism!!!!

Silkdashocker · 09-12-2012, 10:49 PM

It is not even in city limits of Morgantown. So who's tax dollars are they using in this TIF? Would it be the good folks from the city of Morgantown, or Mon County? I see the Monongalia County Commission is involved, so it must just be a county wide tax. With this area lying in unincorporated Granville, does Morgantown have plans to annex the property?

elewis7 · 09-13-2012, 07:55 AM

The TIF districts will use money that would have gone to the County from increases in Sales and Property tax rates. So you're looking at the County collecting those taxes in the TIF district at the same rate for the next 30 years. Any increase in that baseline due to inflation, etc would go towards paying off the bonds. That means they are not using any existing taxes, and using any future increase in rates to invest in more development that probably wouldn't have happened without the TIF.

As for annexation, Westover has a tentative agreement with the developers to annex the Gateway project off Exit 155. Granville, which is incorporated, has access to the expansion of UTC east of the interstate (I believe that might already be in their boundaries). As for the land west of the interstate, I'm pretty sure Westover has the rights to annex it, but I forget off-hand.

CTMountaineer · 09-13-2012, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silkdashocker

It is not even in city limits of Morgantown. So who's tax dollars are they using in this TIF? Would it be the good folks from the city of Morgantown, or Mon County? I see the Monongalia County Commission is involved, so it must just be a county wide tax. With this area lying in unincorporated Granville, does Morgantown have plans to annex the property?

Granville is incorporated, and no, this development has nothing to do with the City of Morgantown per se.
The infrastructure will be built using county property tax that would have been collected based on the increase in value due to the developments. The area on the East side of I79 will be in Granville, and on the West Side it will be in Westover. This is not going to actually start until the Spring when everthing is in place for it to proceed, but the developers and everything are waiting for everything to be finalized.

Silkdashocker · 09-14-2012, 01:09 AM

Thanks for correcting me on Granville, i always thought it was unincorporated. That just goes to show how little i know about the area.

How do people in Morgantown feel about the possibility of the future of WVU athletics being shipped out of the city proper, and closer to the interstate? I realize there is a shortage of available land as Morgantown is a very dense city as it is now. But i just feel this development is going to string out WVU's campus a little too much. But that is just my opinion.

elewis7 · 09-14-2012, 08:45 AM

Well it's not like there's going to be a new arena and football stadium out there. It's just the baseball stadium, and I think it will be great for the team and the region. WVU baseball is poorly attended now, unfortunately, but having the ballpark close to the interstate will give it visibility and more exposure to make it a regional draw. You don't have thousands of students flocking to the park as it is now, so the ones going regularly are dedicated and wouldn't mind a short drive over the river and up the hill. It's not even as if they can't get there. Half of them drive to the park in town, and if someone for - some unknown reason - didn't have a car or a friend with one, the University will sponsor shuttles up there for game days. Plus, you'll have Fairmont State playing there along with a Minor League baseball team, so people will constantly be at the park.

CTMountaineer · 09-26-2012, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elewis7

Well it's not like there's going to be a new arena and football stadium out there. It's just the baseball stadium, and I think it will be great for the team and the region. WVU baseball is poorly attended now, unfortunately, but having the ballpark close to the interstate will give it visibility and more exposure to make it a regional draw. You don't have thousands of students flocking to the park as it is now, so the ones going regularly are dedicated and wouldn't mind a short drive over the river and up the hill. It's not even as if they can't get there. Half of them drive to the park in town, and if someone for - some unknown reason - didn't have a car or a friend with one, the University will sponsor shuttles up there for game days. Plus, you'll have Fairmont State playing there along with a Minor League baseball team, so people will constantly be at the park.

They will have public Mountain Line transit service right to the ballpark, and students and senior citizens can ride that free anywhere they go. There are already hundreds of students living in the new student housing complex on the other end of the Town Centre development.

The new ballpark will be a shared facility with the pro team and Fairmont State University. It is projected to be a state of the art facility with ready access to I79 and the multiple dining establishments in the University Town Center. There is also a hotel located there for visiting teams and fans.