Highland Bridge update: HRA staff propose amendments to minimum assessed values, reallocate TIF interest to affordable housing and public improvements

Deputy Director Melanie McMahon briefed the HRA on a package of proposed changes to Highland Bridge redevelopment agreements and the Ford site TIF plan during the May 7 meeting, saying amendments are intended to reduce holding costs for parcels and stimulate vertical construction while keeping the overall TIF budget unchanged.

McMahon reviewed the timeline: a TIF plan for the site was adopted in 2016, a master plan in 2017 and a redevelopment agreement with Ryan Companies was signed in 2019. She said those earlier decisions included minimum assessed values for parcels intended to encourage development by guaranteeing a floor for tax increment, but that those minimums have created holding cost burdens that make financing vertical development more difficult in the current market. To address that, the package would amend minimum assessed values for 15 of 44 parcels to reduce near-term holding costs and then…