The national Main Street Program touts “coordinated, small-scale facade improvements” in rural downtown commercial districts as having the “power to not only preserve valuable historic resources in rural communities, but also to spur economic growth in the surrounding area.” What local government tools are available and appropriate for encouraging private owners to make facade improvements? […]
Posts Tagged ‘downtown revitalization’
Legal and Business Reasons Why Downtown Development Programs Should Involve Secured Loans—Not Grants
Tuesday, September 19th, 2017Dr. Blaine Beeper is a retired hospital administrator who was recently elected to council in the Town of Bushwood. Dr. Beeper thinks he has figured out how to jumpstart revitalization of Bushwood’s historic downtown. He proposes for the Town to offer annual cash grants to any owner who redevelops a commercial property within the downtown. […]
Conveyance of property in a public-private partnership for a “downtown development project”
Thursday, June 22nd, 2017[UPDATE: Effective January 1, 2021, G.S. 160A-458.3 was moved to new Chapter 160D and the powers were made available to counties as well as municipalities. The new statute pertaining to downtown development projects is G.S. 160D-1315.] Downtowns across America are experiencing a renaissance. Population growth in downtowns has outpaced growth in the broader regions in […]
Cash Grants for Real Estate Developers without Competition for Jobs—A Constitutional Quandary
Tuesday, September 15th, 2015A local real estate developer, Al Czervik, proposes to construct a mixed-use development with residential, office, and retail space. The city council likes the development plan because it is consistent with the council’s vision for the area. Czervik, seeing incentives being offered to convince companies to locate in North Carolina rather than other states, misses […]
Financing Capital Projects–Part II: Special Levies
Tuesday, January 29th, 2013UPDATE AUGUST 2013: The General Assembly extended the authority for the Newer Special Assessment Method. It was set to expire on July 1, 2013. It is now set to expire on July 1, 2015. The legislature also made a few important changes to the Newer Special Assessment authority. See S.L. 2013-371. Blight City has fallen […]
Funding Capital Projects in a BID (Business Improvement District)
Thursday, March 31st, 2011As discussed in a previous post, a North Carolina municipality may establish a special tax district that encompasses its central downtown area to raise money to fund “downtown revitalization.” See G.S. 160A-536(a)(2). The special tax district is commonly referred to as a Business Improvement District or BID. Many municipalities create and maintain BIDs to provide […]