Ashland County board backs City of Ashland plan to create Tax Increment District 11 to spur housing

The Ashland County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a resolution supporting the creation of the City of Ashland's proposed Tax Increment District No. 11 after a presentation by municipal finance adviser Sean Lentz of Ehlers.

County board members heard that the city is proposing a blight-elimination TID focused around Beazer Avenue to spur redevelopment on two parcels, including a proposed 130- to 150-unit apartment project. Sean Lentz said the redevelopment could generate about $44,000,000 in new taxable value and, over the maximum TID term, produce roughly $19,200,000 in captured revenue to repay infrastructure and incentive costs.

The presentation explained how Wisconsin TIDs work: the baseline (current) assessed value remains part of the general tax base, while taxes on new value (the increment) are captured into a special TID fund during the district's life and used to repay projects that support redevelopment. Lentz said the city has estimated the large northern site could be worth $30 million to $36 million after development, with a separate $8 million project potentially occurring later in the district.

Why it matters: County officials said the plan could put a large vacant, remediated parcel to productive reuse and add housing supply in Ashland. Officials also noted trade-offs: while the city and other jurisdictions would not receive tax revenue on the captured increment while the TID is active, the city bears the risk if the TID does not generate enough increment to cover advances or debt.

Board members asked about developer capacity, school and service impacts, and environmental remediation costs. Lentz said the planned development would be privately owned, that remediation or additional site preparation costs were being addressed in the pending development agreement, and that the city assessor and developer estimate the new construction values described above. He also told the board that any long-term deficit risk would be the city's responsibility, not the county's.

Supervisor Pat (Supervisor) said the Ruffer switching-yard parcel is a long-standing vacant site and described the proposal as good news for both the city and county because the county's current tax take on the site would be frozen at the existing assessed value while the TID is active. Supervisor Blake (Supervisor) asked whether the $44 million would be private investment; Lentz replied that the new taxable value represents private development investment (equity and private financing) and that ownership would remain private.

The board approved resolution R04-2025-1501 supporting creation of TID 11. Board members were told the joint review board (overlapping taxing jurisdictions) retained a vote and would meet later to approve or disapprove the district; if the joint review board votes to approve, the documentation would then go to the State of Wisconsin for final processing. Lentz said a joint review board meeting was planned for May 22 to take that vote.

Board action and next steps: The county's vote is an expression of support; the joint review board vote and the city's final documentation and state processing remain required before the district is formally created. The city will ultimately decide which eligible project costs to implement and whether to use borrowing, interfund advances, or pay-as-you-go reimbursements for developer-incurred costs.