Tax-increment financing proposal pushed for 9th and Colorado property (Denver: section 8, neighborhood)

[SkyDog77]

Tax-increment financing proposal pushed for 9th and Colorado property - The Denver Post

It should be a localized property tax based deal. The neighbors are the ones who killed the Wal Mart deal. They should have to cover the cost.

[robertgoodman]

TIF and other incentives were part of the Walmart proposal as well which is what gave the neighborhood the ability to block the development. Nothing regarding the type of incentives being used has changed much since the first proposal, but since that article was written a new developer was being looked for, so the incentives could change.

IMO a new developer is needed. I was never opposed to walmart but the site plan just did not fit. If we are giving incentives to put a suburban project in an urban area again it shows that DURA hasn't learned from the mistakes it made elsewhere. Under-utilization of the land ensures a renewal of TIF incentives in the future to redevelop it again in a decade or two. Developers do not mind that re-work, but cities should be taking longer term views and try to do it right once rather than subsidizing the development of disposable shopping centers over and over again.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by robertgoodman

IMO a new developer is needed. I was never opposed to walmart but the site plan just did not fit. If we are giving incentives to put a suburban project in an urban area again it shows that DURA hasn't learned from the mistakes it made elsewhere. Under-utilization of the land ensures a renewal of TIF incentives in the future to redevelop it again in a decade or two. Developers do not mind that re-work, but cities should be taking longer term views and try to do it right once rather than subsidizing the development of disposable shopping centers over and over again.

This is a great point.

[brown_dog_us]

Developers love to get their politically connected friends to hook them up.

[lurtsman]

If they want to make the area more upscale, Walmart and King S don't really get the job done. They can be in an upscale area, but they can't make the upscale area. It would be wiser to put in a Costco or Sam's club. Those are stores frequented by the very people they are hoping will help redefine the area. I'm not big on using tax dollars, but sometimes an area is in severe need of an overhaul and procrastinating it will only cause the area to worsen. I was scared the housing was going to be section 8 instead of market rate. Paying to overhaul a bad area into section 8 housing (the very definition of what needs an overhaul) would be the ultimate irony for the people living there.