Germantown board authorizes IDB to begin review of Standard Germantown TIF application

Germantown’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday, Jan. 13, voted 4-1 to authorize the city’s Industrial Development Board (IDB) to begin a formal review of a tax-increment financing (TIF) application submitted by CRE DevCo for the Standard Germantown development.

The vote enables the IDB, aided by outside counsel, to evaluate whether the proposed TIF and any requested reimbursements meet state law and local policy before the matter returns to the BMA for further hearings and final action.

Director Cameron Ross, economic and community development director, told the board the development has an extended approval history: outline plans were approved in 2018, amended in 2019 (recorded 2021) to add multifamily, phase 1 began in 2022, and an outline-plan amendment in 2023 increased building heights and adjusted ground-floor commercial. Phase 2 — on the south end — is planned to include ground-floor retail, a parking structure and 320 multifamily units; an additional roughly 60 fee-simple condominium units were described in the application.…