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Auburn council reviews proposal to form community development corporation to hold city properties
Summary
Councilors discussed creating a small, staff-led community development corporation (CDC) that would initially hold city properties and pursue capitalization and redevelopment options, with council oversight and an outlined dissolution process.
A proposal to create a small community development corporation to hold and manage property for the city was discussed at the Auburn City Council workshop on May 5, 2025.
City staff presented the idea as a narrowly scoped entity that could make the city eligible for certain funding and isolate risks tied to property ownership. "Having a separate economic development corporation that could hold a property for the city can sometimes make us eligible for additional funding sources that the city might not be directly eligible for," a staff member told the council.
The city staff said the corporation would initially be limited to holding properties unless the council directed otherwise and would be governed by a small board made up primarily of city employees. "This would be a board made up of city employees, including the city manager, economic development director, and finance director, and one member of the public to be appointed by the manager or council," the staff member said.
The presentation used 186 Main Street and 7 Chestnut Street as examples of properties a CDC could have held during past redevelopment efforts. Staff also flagged tax-acquired parcels as potential future assets for the corporation. Council members asked about an exit strategy; one councilor said they wanted clarity on dissolution rules before creating the entity, and the staff member agreed the board structure and an after-clearing-of-books transfer back to the city would guide the process.
Councilors and staff identified capitalization as an early task for the board if it is created; options discussed included rolling proceeds from property sales into future projects and using conveyed properties as part of capitalization strategies. No ordinance, order or vote to form the CDC was taken at the workshop; staff said they would revise the draft language if the council wanted changes and bring a formal action later.
The council did not take formal action on the CDC at the meeting; the item remained a staff-led discussion for future agenda consideration.
