The Boone County Redevelopment Commission on Friday reviewed financing options for the 6547 Commons project and agreed to pursue steps to expand the TIF allocation area before issuing bonds.

Commission advisers said the board can either issue a single bond now or split the financing into two series to match near-term needs and later development. “A two and a half million dollar bond upfront… usable proceeds, I think, are about 1.8,” one adviser said, while cautioning that parts of the project along State Road 47 likely will not develop until water and sewer are in place.

The distinction matters because building or commercial uses along 47 will be constrained until utilities arrive, advisers said, which could leave proceeds unused while interest accrues. “We’re sitting there paying interest,” a commission member noted when describing the downside of issuing money before projects can spend it.

A consultant report from Baker Tilly arrived this week and will inform the final structure. Commission members and advisers said they are leaning toward issuing two series of bonds: an initial series to provide starter funds for immediate infrastructure and a later series when development is ready. That approach is meant to avoid long periods in which proceeds sit unused.

The commission was also told the project team recently acquired additional property that was not part of the original allocation area for the TIF. Expanding the allocation area requires a declaratory resolution, review by the plan commission and a confirmatory resolution by the county commissioners; advisers said that sequence can be completed over the next couple of meetings.

Advisers said they expect to meet with developer representatives, financial advisers and county staff in the coming weeks to refine the numbers and timelines, with the goal of having a clearer financing plan by the commission’s August meeting. Because the ultimate bond size will depend on final users and building sizes, advisers described key numbers as provisional until those details are settled.

Next steps assigned during the discussion include: meeting with the project team and Baker Tilly to finalize whether to proceed with a single issue or a two-series structure; preparing a declaratory resolution to expand the allocation area for plan commission review; and returning to the RDC with a recommended financing structure and timetable.

Background: Tax-increment financing bonds use future incremental property tax revenue from a defined allocation area to pay debt service. The commission’s advisers framed the two-series approach as a way to match borrowing to when development can actually spend proceeds and to reduce interest costs during idled periods.