DDA draft TIF plan lists $21 million for Ann Arbor farmers market; city says visioning, public engagement will determine outcome

Remy, deputy manager at Parks and Recreation, told the Market Advisory Commission on May 15 that the Downtown Development Authority's (DDA) draft development and tax-increment financing (TIF) plan lists the farmers market as a potential downtown park investment and shows a DDA share of $21,000,000 for the site.

Remy said the draft plan, which the DDA took to City Council in April, lays out scenarios for how boundary changes and tax models could influence long-term investments across the DDA service area. “It appears to be a bit of a wish list,” Remy said, adding that the list presents an upper budget threshold rather than a predetermined commitment. “So while all of these potential projects are listed, it does not mean they'll all get done.”

Remy told commissioners the $21,000,000 figure is the DDA’s share in the draft, not Parks and Recreation or other funding sources, and emphasized the commission should view it as a ceiling the DDA might use to justify future spending. He said the city will follow a public visioning and engagement process before any final decisions are made, and that the commission should expect pre-visioning work this summer with the formal community engagement targeted for the fall, around September.

Why it matters: the DDA’s boundaries and the numbers in its TIF plan determine how much tax increment revenue the DDA can capture for downtown projects. Any expansion of the DDA boundary or the projects listed in its plan can change the amount of revenue available and the DDA’s case for funding capital work, including parks and the farmers market.

Supporting details reported to the commission: the DDA plan was described as a long-range document (Remy said the plan referenced timelines on the order of 10 to 30 years in places), and the DDA presented its draft to City Council near the time of the PMAC meeting. Remy said the market building site will be reopened after demolition and subjected to a public envisioning process that will shape any future investment; he explicitly cautioned that the $21,000,000 line in the draft does not mean that exact amount will be spent.

Remy also offered to have the city's communications team contact a local outlet (MLive) to clarify reporting that some vendors and customers interpreted as implying the market was closed. He said the market remains open through the pre-visioning period.

Discussion and next steps: Commissioners and market stakeholders asked how the DDA arrived at the $21,000,000 figure and how long the plan’s horizon is; Remy said he could not cite the exact methodology from the draft and that plan timelines ranged in the report. Remy said Parks and Recreation has limited staff capacity for multiple concurrent engagement processes and may subcontract visioning work; the department anticipates launching procurement for contractors and expects community engagement to follow staffing and procurement timelines.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the DDA plan; the discussion recorded during the meeting was informational and staff indicated they will share updates as the DDA process, council input and the market visioning schedule progress.