The Administration Committee of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen on an administratively noticed meeting voted to approve proposed stricter eligibility criteria for the city’s community revitalization tax relief incentive program (commonly referred to as 79‑E), Economic Development Director Jody Nizaka told the committee.

Nizaka recommended raising a rehabilitation‑cost threshold to require that rehabilitation exceed 200 percent of pre‑renovation value for projects seeking relief in the city’s Central Business Service District. “The state has that set at 15%,” Nizaka said, citing the state threshold and explaining the local recommendation was intended to encourage larger projects that produce greater taxable‑value gains.

The change, Nizaka said, is designed to give developers clearer guidance before they apply and to prioritize larger redevelopment projects. She provided recent examples to illustrate typical project scales: a 2020 renovation at 252 Willow Street measured about 658% of pre‑renovation value; a 2022 project at 1217 Elm Street (the Racks LeMay building) measured about 335%; 73 Hanover Street measured 412%; and 75 Canal measured about 1,158%. Nizaka said smaller or atypical projects have measured lower (she cited 150 Dow Street and 944 Elm Street as smaller or unique cases).

Committee members asked whether property owners and prospective applicants would be notified of the revised criteria; Nizaka said staff can notify potentially affected property owners and that she has already been in contact with counsel for an owner of 959 Elm Street about a current freeze affecting applications. She also told the committee the city has approved 23 projects under the program since its inception in February 2008.

The committee voted to approve advancing the recommended criteria; the transcript records a motion, a second and an affirmative voice vote but does not record named individual votes. Nizaka said staff expect to bring amendments to the program application to the full Board of Mayor and Aldermen for final action.

The state threshold Nizaka described includes a 15 percent threshold or $75,000, and the presenter noted municipalities may set stricter local criteria. Committee discussion emphasized that clearer local standards would help applicants determine eligibility before filing for a 79‑E application and that stricter standards aim to steer incentives toward projects with larger downtown economic impact.