Remember the proposed lake/retention pond that’s part of the massive redevelopment coming to East Decatur? Well, that and other infrastructure improvements in the area will cost more than a few pennies to build.
With the Avondale MARTA parking lot mixed-use redevelopment on the verge of commencement, the city is looking to create our first ever Tax Allocation District (TAD) in East Decatur before the base value of property in the area increases further.
Why does the ‘base value’ matter? Well, TADs work by establishing a ‘base value’ for an area and then “any increase in the tax digest over the district’s base value can be used to pay for public improvements”, to quote Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon in his letter to the City Manager.
Decatur residents authorized the city to use TADs back in a 2010 referendum. And the city held the first of two public hearings on the East Decatur TAD back on December 8th. The second hearing is scheduled for this evening.
Though the city commission is set to vote on the TAD this evening, that doesn’t guarantee it will happen. The school system and the County both need to be onboard too and those decisions won’t be made until next year. However, Mr. Saxon’s note states that Superintendent David Dude has been briefed on the TAD and he has “requested that properties in the East Decatur area that are under contract to the City Schools be included in the TAD district.” CSD is currently considering building a school within the aforementioned MARTA Avondale mixed-use development.
What improvements would the TAD fund?
According to the Plan, we’re talking about the following…
- Roadway connections to improve the flow of vehicular traffic that will be present in the area at the time of redevelopment.
- Enhancements such as streetscapes, curb and sidewalk improvements and public spaces to improve the experience of pedestrians, including school children, and other residents and visitors in the district.
- Stormwater management improvements, which could also function as public park/green space, and possible environmental remediation to support redevelopment of former industrial sites.
According to the draft on the TAD Redevelopment Plan, the East Decatur TAD represents 1.4% of Decatur’s total digest (at 50% of market value) of $1,529,250,243. As is true of all TADs, the school system would continue to receive the $409,000 a year that it currently makes from the properties in the area and “only taxes associated with incremental real estate digest growth above the current base amount would be pledged to the TAD.”, as stated in the Plan.
The Plan estimates that with the TAD improvements, CSD will see a $2 million increase in revenue in 20 years, while the historic rate of growth in the whole city, at 5.2%, projects that revenue would only double in that period.