The city council on Monday tabled a request for a tax abatement for a nursing and rehabilitation center that would be built at 5815 Fir Road, just north of Douglas Road, until its next meeting on Oct. 7.
The facility’s developer, Long Term Care Investments, asked for it to be tabled because of scheduling conflicts and to give the council more time to make a decision, said Gregg Hixenbaugh, an attorney representing the firm.
Council President Mike Compton, D-5th, said the delay helps since the council has several questions.
He said that’s partly because of a new state law that gives city councils more flexibility in granting tax abatements. They can set how many years the abatement should last and what percentage it should be for each year.
“That throws into more question as to what is the right thing to do,” he said.
Long Term Care Investments has requested a seven-year abatement of property taxes. But the proposed abatement that city planner Ken Prince drafted for the council would be for three years, abating 100 percent in the first year, 80 percent in the second and 60 percent in the third, cutting an estimated $439,200 in taxes. Compton said he’d like to hear more about what the firm wants “and then go from there.”
If built, the $15 million facility with $1.5 million in furnishings would offer 61 full-time jobs, the firm has said.
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