Tullahoma officials present Summerlin TIF plan to Coffee County; commissioners agree to place financing proposal on June agenda

Winston Brooks, director of the Tullahoma Area Economic Development Corporation, and Chris Rudd of Beacon Companies presented a proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan for the Summerlin mixed-use development at the Coffee County Budget & Finance meeting in May.

Brooks said the project is intended to address a local housing shortage and to create commercial space; he described Summerlin as a planned mixed-use development on the north side of Highway 41A that would include retail space and a range of housing types. Brooks said the developer’s economic impact analysis projects significant new property and sales tax revenue and construction jobs.

Brooks and the presentation materials described a TIF district that would reimburse the developer for identified public infrastructure costs (roads, sewer, water, sidewalks, stormwater and related public improvements) with a maximum reimbursement of $18,400,000 plus interest over a 20-year term. He summarized the county’s share under the draft arrangement: the county would retain 40% of the incremental property taxes produced by the development and, as presented, that share is projected to amount to roughly $12.4 million over 20 years, or on the order of $1.5 million per year once fully realized.

Brooks said the arrangement is non-recourse to the county: “All the liability is on the developer,” and the developer must build and finance the infrastructure before qualifying for reimbursement. Chris Rudd, a Beacon Companies representative, confirmed that the TIF functions as a reimbursement for installed public utilities: “We have to pay for those expenses first… it’ll be a combination of cash and debt on our side,” Rudd said, adding that banks will lend once increment is created and the properties are built.

Presentation details included an economic-impact study prepared for the developer (identified as produced by the Younger Group), vetting steps with a review committee and city approvals. Brooks said the developer requested a TIF not to exceed $18.4 million and that the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the local development board had reviewed associated analyses.

Commissioners asked for clarifications about annexation (Brooks said the project is inside Tullahoma city limits), timing (the developer estimated phased construction beginning as soon as civil plans are complete, possibly this fall, with buildout over roughly six to eight years depending on market absorption) and how reimbursement and bank financing would work. Brooks and Rudd emphasized that taxes are paid in full annually by property owners and the county then reimburses an agreed portion to the developer for eligible infrastructure costs; at the end of the TIF term the county retains the full tax base.

After the presentation Commissioner Stubblefield moved to place the TIF resolution on the commission’s June agenda; Commissioner Hirschman seconded. The motion passed by voice vote with commissioners recorded as “Aye.” The hearing materials and the developer’s economic-impact plan will be part of the June discussion.