Tax increment financing districts are beginning to pay off for some metro cities.
Midwest City, Tecumseh and Shawnee will receive their first payments this year after establishing tax increment financing districts, also known as TIF districts.
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With TIF districts, any increase in property taxes is set aside to fund infrastructure and other public improvements in the district.
Midwest City Finance Director Judy Redman said her city is expected to garner $323,524 from its 90-acre district along Interstate 40 from Air Depot to Midwest Boulevard.
Pottawatomie County Treasurer Michelle Peacore said Tecumseh is set to receive $33,854 from its downtown TIF district along Broadway to State Highway 9.
There are several other cities in the metro area working toward establishing a TIF district, or at least considering it as an incentive to attract developers.
The Norman City Council in May approved establishing a TIF district for 585 acres on the east side of Interstate 35 between Robinson Street and Tecumseh Road.
City officials in Edmond are considering establishing a district to fund infrastructure improvements for a mall on Interstate 35, while officials in The Village and McLoud also are considering TIF districts.
In Midwest City, the boundaries of the tax increment financing district are becoming more pronounced as construction in the district continues to boom.
Community Development Director Billy Harless said phase one of the redevelopment along I-40 is complete, with the construction of 330,000 square feet of retail space now home to Lowes, Target and Kohl's stores. The second phase, nearly 300,000 square feet of additional retail space, is under construction.
The money generated in the TIF district is helping improve streets and construct water and sewer lines, sidewalks and an attractive fountain that doubles as a water retention area, Harless said.
Also planned is a park-like area about the size of a football field for festivals and other events.
Harless said that from the district's inception, city officials had three goals in mind.
"We wanted to improve the city's image (and) spur economic development with a viable retail center," Harless said. "We wanted to create a downtown area that Midwest City hasn't had until this point."
In Tecumseh, the TIF district is expected to generate $1.5 million during a 20-year period for the Tecumseh Growth and Development Authority to invest in projects.
Mayor Greg Wilson said the authority has discussed using the money to construct a sports complex and retail space for a grocery store.
Early returns aren't as promising for Shawnee, however.
County records show that Shawnee's TIF district has generated $4,173, which is substantially less than city officials anticipated.
Shawnee City Planner Mike Southard said the district, in downtown Shawnee, has been a driver for improvement in the area. Unfortunately, it has not generated the annual $70,000 city officials were predicting when it was established three years ago, he said.
Southard said the TIF district helped spur the $10 million rehabilitation of the Aldridge Hotel into apartments for senior citizens. It's also credited for extensive renovations at the multiple-story Masonic Building and the ongoing transformation of the former Shawnee Garment Manufacturing Co. into the Bell Street Brick House pub, he said.
Even with the millions of dollars that have been invested in the district, county records show it assessed in 2005 for about $1.8 million.
Pottawatomie County Assessor Troyce King said he's not sure why the assessment is so low but that he plans to have an assessor pull building permits and conduct a tour of the Aldridge Apartments and other buildings in the TIF district for a more accurate assessment.
King, who has been the county assessor since January, said the district's assessment should reflect its full value by 2007.
Southard said until then, streetscape projects that were to be funded with TIF district tax proceeds will be postponed.
