MORGANTOWN — It’s called East End Village Redevelopment District No. 6, but the forthcoming tax increment financing district recently initiated by the city of Morgantown stretches far beyond the 9.5 or so acres overlooking Richwood Avenue targeted for redevelopment under the East End Village name.
The district, initiated at the request of the Monongalia County Development Authority, will cover approximately 73 acres, stretching from North High Street between Willey Street and Fife Avenue and running east. At its widest point, it extends from Oak Street – in the area between Willey Street and Battelle Avenue – south to Deckers Creek. From there it narrows, encompassing city-owned property along Forest Avenue as well as BOPARC’s Whitemoore Park and a narrow offshoot that follows the Deckers Creek Trail to Powell Avenue.
A TIF district is a development tool that leverages rising property values to repay bonds sold in order to finance infrastructure improvements within a defined area.
Interestingly, a significant portion of the area described above, including nearly all of the East End development footprint, already falls within a TIF district.
In 2014, Morgantown City Council and the West Virginia Department of Economic Development approved the Willey-Spruce-Brockway TIF.
That district, which covers roughly 99 acres and some 464 parcels, stretches further south into the downtown to Walnut Street and crosses Deckers Creek to include lower Greenmont – currently an area of focus for the city.
Despite being in place for more than a decade, Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffee said no TIF bonds were ever issued for improvements within the district.
And they never will be.
The plan is to eliminate the Willey-Spruce-Brockway district prior to the finalization of the new East End Village Redevelopment District.
Morgantown Area Partnership President and CEO Russ Rogerson said the creation of a new TIF is preferable because it will restart the 30-year clock on the life of the district.
“Because there’s been no bond issues on that TIF and because, in order to do bond funding, the 30-year window is really better to get favorable bond financing, we decided to make this what we like to call a ‘project TIF,’ meaning we’re not taking up a lot of properties that would not be directly involved in the East End Village project,” he said. “So that frees up Greenmont if they, in their redevelopment efforts, decide they would like a TIF, then they can create one specifically for their project.”
The East End TIF application is currently available for review at the Morgantown City Clerk’s office.
Morgantown City Council will conduct a public hearing on the application as part of its Nov. 4 regular meeting.
