The Terre Haute City Council on July 10 created a municipal affordable‑housing fund required to receive payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑taxes (PILOT) proceeds and tabled a separate developer request for a 15‑year PILOT for a 120‑unit affordable housing development known as Wabash Place.

Michael Wright, city legal/controller staff, told the council the new fund is required by Indiana Code (36‑3‑2‑12) when a unit of government receives pilot payments. “This ordinance takes care of that; it creates the fund to which all resources from pilot fees will flow,” staff said. The council voted to approve the fund creation (General Ordinance 5 20 25).

Developer TWG Development presented details of Wabash Place, a state‑funded competitive project of roughly $29.3 million that would provide 120 units capped at 60% of area median income, with rents limited to 30% of household income. TWG requested a 15‑year PILOT that would begin in the 2027 assessment year, with a first‑year payment of $35,000 rising 3% annually. TWG said the state review treats the tax savings over time as the project’s local match for competitive funding.

Councilors asked detailed questions about the project’s estimated tax base, why the developer requested $35,000, local contractor participation, union labor, local hiring, and what would happen to the project if the council declined a pilot. The developer said the state required a local match and that the proposed PILOT represents the financial mechanism to provide that match instead of a cash contribution from the city.

After council discussion, Councilperson George Azar moved and Councilperson Amanda Thompson seconded a motion to table Resolution 20 20 25 (the PILOT for TWG Terra LP) until the council’s Aug. 7 meeting. The motion carried. The developer agreed to provide a subcontractor list and said it would share additional information about local contractor participation and local hiring before the next meeting.