Evansville redevelopment commission reviews annual spending plan, details $1.5M North Main streetscape work

The Evansville Redevelopment Commission on Oct. 21 reviewed a draft annual spending plan that places priority funding on completing the North Main Streetscape in the Jacobsville district and updates bond-service and TIF projections ahead of next year’s budget cycle.

The discussion matters because the spending plan documents how the commission expects to use tax-increment financing (TIF) and other redevelopment funds for infrastructure, debt service and potential grant programs; commissioners and staff said the plan will guide decisions on design work, contingencies and whether to continue certain pilot programs.

Lana, redevelopment commission staff, described the largest planned capital cost as finishing the North Main Streetscape and estimated construction at about $1.5 million, with an internal contingency figure discussed at roughly $2 million until bids are received. She said the streetscape work will extend from First Avenue at Virginia Street north to Second Avenue, include curb-ramp and sidewalk upgrades near a school for visually impaired students, new street lighting and intersection safety improvements, and then continue west on Franklin to connect with existing bike facilities and future city-engineer projects toward the Pigeon Creek Trailhead. “We’ll redo all the curb…