By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Riverfront housing development in Decatur has been under the radar for some time, but it hasn’t been forgotten by city officials.
The subject was lightly touched upon at the recent meeting of city council when Mayor Dan Rickord said of the idea, “There’s a somewhat design. Right now, it’s just ideas.”
He added, “We have a developer who’s interested in doing it.”
The subject came up during a discussion about hiring Crowe LLC – a public accounting, consulting, and technology firm which has done work for the city in the past – to provide a forecast of what TIF revenues would amount to in the development area being considered
Tax Increment Financing is a way to capture tax benefits of real estate improvements. Those benefits are then used to pay for the present cost of those improvements.
“We need this to have a better understanding of what the TIF revenues would be,” City Attorney Anne Razo said. “The project is at a point where we need this to more forward.”
It was decided to have Razo obtain a quote from Crowe on figuring out some revenue figures from a TIF.
Early this year the city approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the city, the Decatur Redevelopment Commission, and the Housing Resource Hub.
The redevelopment commission put up $50,000 to hire the Fort Wayne-based Resource Hub, which specializes in developing and implementing workforce housing strategies, housing development, and home-buyer programs.
Local officials would like to develop affordable housing on city-owned land off First St., from Monroe to Jefferson streets, as well as, perhaps, the city-owned parking lot off Monroe St., near the Chamber of Commerce office.
A steering committee of approximately 10 people has been established by the city.
“We have a desperate need for apartments in Decatur, a study showed that,” redevelopment officials have told council.
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