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Urban3 analysis: downtown Athens produces far more tax revenue per acre than big‑box development
Summary
Consultant Joe Minicosi of Urban3 told Athens‑Clarke County officials an analysis of local parcels shows the county’s downtown parcels generate far more tax revenue per acre than sprawling big‑box uses and that several proposed mixed‑use projects would be net positive for county finances.
Joe Minicosi, principal of Urban3, presented an economic model to Athens‑Clarke County showing that downtown, mixed‑use properties generate substantially more tax revenue per acre than low‑density, big‑box development.
The analysis compared parcel-level property- and sales‑tax productivity and mapped results in three dimensions. It identified 110 East Clayton Street as among the county’s highest‑productivity parcels and showed examples where compact, mixed‑use buildings produced far more tax revenue per acre than a Walmart that occupies many acres.
Minicosi said the comparison is driven by land‑use patterns: a rehabbed downtown building occupying about 0.2 acre generates comparable or greater revenue per acre than a Walmart that takes roughly 34 acres. “Apples to apples, if you want to know the taxes per acre, we’re producing about a 100 times more taxes per acre,” Minicosi said. He also told…
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