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Gallatin officials get design-phase update on downtown "Project Phoenix"; financing, timing left undecided
Summary
City officials received a 10-month design-phase update on Project Phoenix and were told the developer has not finalized financing requests such as tax-increment financing. Council members pressed for specifics on costs and relocation logistics; no commitments or approvals were made.
Miss Bates, executive director of economic development for the City of Gallatin, told the council on March 11 that Project Phoenix is in a 10-month design phase led by the developer and its consultants.
"Currently, Project Phoenix is in their 10 month design phase," Bates said, adding the developer is working with Historical Concepts on architectural considerations and Reagan Smith on engineering and infrastructure needs. "A stacking plan, phasing plan, construction schedule, and all of this must be approved by the governmental parties, meaning that not only would the City Council have to approve it, it's going to have to go through the Planning Commission process as well."
The update did not include a formal financing package. Council members and the mayor repeatedly pressed for details about how the city would pay for public components and relocation costs tied to the project, but the developer had not made specific requests, Bates said. The council heard that the developer has asked about tax increment financing, or TIF, but has not submitted a formal proposal.
"Do they know what they want to ask for yet? No, absolutely they do not," Bates said, urging that any request would need to come back to the council with full explanation of terms. Mayor Brown and other members emphasized that council review should occur once the developer presents concrete figures and plans.
Councilman Jevons, who requested the update after constituent questions, said he had filed a records request and received more than 500 pages of documents. "I made a record request... and I got more than 500 pages of documents," Jevons said, noting the large volume had added details but not resolved financing questions.
Council members raised a series of cost concerns that remain unresolved. Speakers said relocating a fire station tied to the project could cost about $16,000,000; a new police station was estimated informally in discussion at roughly $10,000,000. Bates said the developer's 10-month phase will produce conceptual site and elevation plans, zoning and permitting assessments, a phasing schedule and a financing plan if pursued; she said the developer's submission deadline for the current phase would be in early fall (Bates indicated "that would be September").
Council members and the mayor stressed process steps: a concept plan typically goes to the Planning Commission before any rezoning or detailed approvals come to the City Council, and the council suggested it should see major concept-level materials before the Planning Commission review for this project because of its scale.
No formal vote or directive was taken on Project Phoenix at the March 11 meeting. Staff and council members said they would expect the developer to return with specific budget and financing materials before any city commitment to incentives, infrastructure investments or relocation costs.
The discussion included repeated cautions from council members about premature public alarm if negotiating topics such as TIF are discussed without developer requests or specific terms. Bates and the mayor said they would present any formal developer requests to council with clear explanations of the proposed incentives and expected city commitments.
