The Tax Increment Financing (TIF) that helped develop Renaissance at Colony Parkway Phase III has now been expanded to include the neighboring Costco gas station. The Ridgeland Board of Alderman unanimously voted yes to add the Costco gas station to the original Renaissance Colony Parkway TIF.
Before the motion to accept the amended plan was executed, the TIF included Costco, but not the gas station.
“The main thing that is going on is the expansion of the TIF into the gas station area. That will help the TIF get paid off faster,” said Chuck Gautier, Ridgeland alderman.
The amendment to the plan was prepared by financial consultants Gouras & Associates. The plan allows for the neighboring Costco gas station to be rezoned to be included in the TIF area. The owners of the property were required, per the amendment, to send a letter stating that they would not attempt to expand additional developments into the TIF area and they would not attempt to acquire more than $12,500,000 worth of bonds.
The plan was unanimously passed by the aldermen and mayor.
The amendment will help the developers pay off the bonds faster because adding the gas station to the TIF area will increase the estimated revenue generated there.
But exactly how much time the amended plan will save cannot be determined, according to Mayor Gene McGee. How much the TIF will help is entirely dependent upon the success of the businesses in the area.
The TIF plan for Renaissance at Colony Parkway Phase III was originally presented in 2016, which did not include the Costco gas station. Essentially, a TIF is where governments borrow against the assessed future tax revenue of an area to expedite the development process.
