EVERETT — Everett’s riverfront property is set to get a lift from a statewide financing tool, new to Washington, but used by redevelopment agencies across the country.
The city was told this month that it could use future gains in taxes to back bonds that will pay for expensive work planned for a sweeping former industrial site along a bend in the Snohomish River.
“This money is an important source of revenue for the city as we build improvements such as trails, park space, streets, bridges and public utilities that complement the private investment along the riverfront,” Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson said in a press release.
Earlier this year, Everett agreed to sell 221 acres of riverfront industrial land to San Diego developer OliverMcMillan, which plans to build a mix of retail, residential and other commercial development there. Officials said they expected the $8 million deal to close by the end of this month.
For its part, the city has agreed to pay for a large park and trails and to protect environmentally sensitive wetlands on the property. It has also pledged to help OliverMcMillan design, build and maintain a system to collect methane gas emissions from a former landfill on the development site. The city could wind up spending as much as $100 million in its own, state and federal funds on the project before it is done. However, it expects the investment to pay dividends in the form of increased tax dollars.
The Washington Community Economic Revitalization Board approved Everett’s application for the state program created by the Legislature in 2006 called the Local Infrastructure Financing Tool.
For Everett, that could translate to as much as $500,000 a year for 25 years. The cash should start coming in by 2010 or 2011, when Everett begins collecting sales and use taxes from new developments in the district southeast of downtown.
The actual amount of money the city gets will be linked to increases in sales tax revenue over time.
The cities of Bothell and Federal Way were also qualified for the program.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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