Council approves $250,000 forgivable loan and alley vacation for Centennial Edge redevelopment

The Lafayette Common Council on June 1 approved a $250,000 forgivable loan from existing tax-increment financing (TIF) funds to support the Centennial Edge redevelopment project and vacated a portion of an alley south of Union Street between Fourth and Fifth streets to clear title and facilitate construction.

The loan, described to the council at second reading, may be drawn in three installments and "once the project has been successfully completed, the $250,000 loan will be deemed forgiven," a city staff member told the council. The council voted 7-0 to approve the loan ordinance.

The alley vacation ordinance, presented as part of the same redevelopment effort, removes public right-of-way along the alley where the developer owns the parcels on either side. City staff said the extreme southern portion of the alley — which serves as access to the garage and parking area at 815 North Fourth Street — will not be vacated so vehicle access remains. The council approved the alley vacation on second reading by a 7-0 vote.

Developer John Teeble was present at the meeting; city staff answered council questions and outlined the financing mechanism. City staff described the loan as coming from TIF funds on hand and therefore structured as a forgivable loan rather than a traditional bond.

The council took no public comment on either the loan or the alley vacation. The ordinances passed on roll call with unanimous support.

Details on the project timeline, the schedule for installment draws, and the conditions for deeming the loan forgiven were described in the presentation to the council but no additional enforcement conditions or clawback language were read into the record at second reading.