Germantown authorizes IDB to begin review of Standard Germantown TIF application

The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday voted to authorize the city’s Industrial Development Board (IDB) to begin a formal review of a tax increment financing (TIF) application for the Standard Germantown development.

Economic and Community Development Director Cameron Ross told the board the application follows an outline plan approved in 2018, amended in 2019 and again in 2023, and that phase 2 of the project — on the south end of the site — would include ground-floor retail, a parking structure and 320 multifamily units. Ross said the full development will include just over 400,000 square feet of office space, just over 100,000 square feet of retail, 240 hotel rooms, 320 multifamily residential units and an additional roughly 60 fee-simple condominium units. The TIF application was submitted by an entity listed in the record as CRE DevCo.

Ross described TIF as an incentive that lets the city and county pledge future property-tax revenue generated by the development to pay for eligible public infrastructure or project costs. He told the board the IDB will review the application under relevant provisions of the Tennessee Code Annotated and that the current vote only authorizes the IDB to begin its review and request additional studies, public hearings and documentation.

Debate at the BMA focused on whether a TIF is appropriate for this site and what municipal costs the city would incur if the development proceeds. Alderman Hicks said he supports allowing the IDB to conduct the review but expressed concern that TIFs were originally intended to encourage development in underutilized or blighted areas and questioned whether the corner at issue fits that description. Hicks asked that the IDB examine incremental service impacts — police, fire, emergency medical calls and other operating costs — and report back on likely fiscal needs.

Alderman Sanders said he opposes moving the application forward; he argued TIFs divert long-term public revenues away from core services and noted that the application requests about $40 million over a 20-year term (Ross and staff clarified the full request includes both city and county increment and that the city’s share would be roughly one-third of a roughly $43 million request). Sanders said the city already has invested in infrastructure that benefits the project — citing a recent sewer line — and said he would not support authorizing the IDB to proceed.

Alderman Salvaggio and Vice Mayor Gibson spoke for permitting the IDB to undertake its review. Salvaggio said he had researched TIFs and, despite reservations about their original purpose, trusts the IDB to evaluate the proposal on its merits. Vice Mayor Gibson noted the IDB membership and the process and moved the resolution.

Motion and vote: Vice Mayor Gibson moved to approve Resolution 25R02 authorizing the Industrial Development Board to begin review of the Standard Germantown Development TIF application; the motion was seconded by Alderman Yulicki. Roll call votes recorded: Vice Mayor Gibson — yes; Alderman Hicks — yes; Alderman Yulicki — yes; Alderman Salvaggio — yes; Alderman Sanders — no. The motion carried.

Next steps: With the BMA vote, the IDB may request additional studies and hold public hearings. Ross said the developer’s application already includes a draft economic study; the IDB will review that material, commission further analysis if warranted, hold public hearings and then make a recommendation to the BMA, which would consider any final TIF approval in a future meeting.