From the Anderson Herald-Bulletin:
The Anderson Redevelopment Commission voted to approve the expansion of a tax increment financing district to include westside properties and former General Motors sites that are in need of revitalization.
But the 3-0 approval didn’t come without several community members asking questions about a topic that can be confusing to many.
Tax increment financing, or TIF, districts are created so that property taxes from new commercial, industrial and manufacturing businesses are captured and spent on infrastructure improvements within the district or to benefit the district. Those improvements are then used as an economic development tool to lure more businesses to the city.
The city has two TIF districts, including a consolidated one that spans and connects different areas of the city from downtown all the way to both interstate exits. It brings in $6.6 million annually.
Now that district will be expanded to include areas along the north and south side of Nichol Avenue, between Park Road and Raible Avenue. That will include the properties with Great Taste China Buffet and Best Way Cleaners, and the former Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hardees, Kmart and Edgewood Plaza.
Fifty percent of existing commercial areas are vacant there and Edgewood Plaza is currently under demolition.
The second area that was added is former Guide Corp. properties along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 32nd Street.
The final section that became part of the district is Orchard Park, 900 acres of mostly agricultural area west of MLK between 53rd and 67th streets that could at some point serve industrial purposes.
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http://heraldbulletin.com/business/x1483827565/Westside-properties-added-to-TIF-district
