Stand back. The following was printed in a staff report for Asheville City Council. It made my heart sing.
It is staff’s recommendation not to pursue Project Development Financing (also known as Tax Increment Financing) as a means of supporting the public infrastructure improvements associated with the Montford Commons project. Based on preliminary analysis, this project does not appear to be suitable for Project Development Financing (PDF). Discussions with underwriters, as well as the Local Government Commission reveal that there is currently no market for PDF’s at a reasonable interest rate. Additionally, staff believes the level of complexity and cost of issuance expenses associated with PDF’s cannot be justified based on the size and scope of the requested public investment. Further, based on information we have received to date from Frontier Syndicate, the estimated city and county property tax revenue ($575,000) that will be produced by the development is insufficient to cover the projected debt service costs ($900k) associated with a PDF for $9 million in public infrastructure improvements.
Congratulations are due to City CFO Ben Durant and his staff.
