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Council approves 20-year TID for Voigt Farm, authorizes city land‑banking of lots for affordable housing
Summary
The Madison Common Council voted unanimously to authorize a 20-year mixed‑use tax incremental district (TID No. 55) for the former Voigt Farm and approved a development agreement that allows the city to purchase and land‑bank lots for future affordable housing development.
MADISON, Wis. — The Common Council on Tuesday approved a 20‑year mixed‑use tax incremental financing district and a development agreement with Starkweather LLC to support redevelopment of the former Voigt Farm into 13 lots that may be sold to market‑rate and affordable housing developers.
The vote adopted Legistar file 87,871 to create Tax Incremental District No. 55, Voigt Farm, and authorized the mayor and city clerk to execute the development agreement. Council President Vittiver moved adoption; the motion was moved and seconded and recorded as a unanimous voice vote.
The deal gives the city the option to purchase several of the newly created lots to “land‑bank” them for affordable housing. Helen Bradbury, a representative of Stone House Development who joined by Zoom, confirmed the city’s role: “That’s correct,” when asked whether the city would buy lots for land‑banking and later sell them to nonprofit developers such as the Madison Area Community Land Trust or Habitat for Humanity.
Matt Wachter, city staff, told the council that tax‑increment financing (TIF) assistance is split into two parts: funds to acquire lots for affordable housing and a separate tranche for TIF assistance to buyers of the remaining lots. “Any project that comes in outside of the lots that we’re land banking, they would come in on a normal TIF process,” Wachter said, adding that the finance committee and ultimately the full council retain discretion to underwrite and place conditions on any TIF award.
Wachter also summarized the city’s land‑banking policy, saying staff look for sites suitable for affordable housing and near transit and amenities, and that the policy allows several disposal paths after acquisition. Those include issuing a request for proposals and bundling the land with other subsidy tools through the Community Development Division to create a full financing package for nonprofit or other developers.
During council questions, Bradbury said the developer is negotiating with a large Section 42 (federal low‑income housing tax credit) developer for future affordable units but did not expect those units to be part of an initial phase of market‑rate construction.
The development agreement covers a 20‑year term for the TID and references legislative file 87,871; council members asked how the city’s land‑banking process and Community Development Authority (CDA) involvement would influence later decisions about unit mix, rents or ownership models. Wachter said that specific project details — such as percent of AMI served or rental versus ownership models — would be determined later through CDA processes and standard TIF application and underwriting steps.
The council recorded no objections and accepted the agreement by unanimous vote. The land‑banking option gives the city a path to steer some lots toward nonprofit affordable housing development, while other lots may proceed to market‑rate builders pending separate TIF applications and committee approvals.
