EVERETT – Another downtown condo project will benefit from a decade of deep property tax discounts.
Library Place, a seven-story complex with 201 condos and apartments, last week became the fourth project to qualify for the tax break.
The residential building next to the Everett Public Library at 2731 Rucker Ave. would not have been constructed without the incentive, said project developer Craig Skotdal, president of Skotdal Real Estate.
His company estimates the building will cost $30 million to construct.
Everett’s tax break program allows qualified condo and apartment owners in the downtown area to skip 10 years of property taxes on the value of eligible new residential buildings, paying taxes only on the land value.
That can translate to more than $1,000 a year in savings per unit.
The program, which was recently extended to 2018, is part of the city’s push to increase the number of people living downtown.
Creating a more vibrant, densely populated urban district is a key element to the city’s economic development strategy for downtown.
Library Place could bring an additional 300 residents to the heart of the city.
It is expected to lift up a sagging corner of downtown where the Everett Elks Lodge and an assortment of small businesses are now housed in dilapidated buildings.
Members of the Everett Elks Club agreed in 2004 to sell the property at the corner of Rucker Avenue and California Street, including its 50,000-square-foot headquarters.
Skotdal said his company is expected to gain ownership of the property on Sept. 6 and will immediately begin removing asbestos from the Elks building.
No price or rental rate range for the new units has been set, he said.
If all goes according to schedule, people will be able to move in at the same time as condos being built on Everett’s waterfront, Skotdal said.
While the program does shift the burden of paying for police, fire protection, schools and other public services to taxpayers elsewhere in the city for 10 years, the impact is small, officials say.
That’s because the cost of the reduction is spread over the $11 billion in assessed value citywide.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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