Commission approves sending Project Keystone TIF amendment to budget committee

The steering committee voted unanimously to forward an amendment to the previously approved Project Keystone TIF that separates the originally single TIF allocation into three distinct, phase-tied pots to match phased delivery and lenders' financing needs.

Developer Bart Klein said the change does not alter the scope or density previously approved through the planned-unit development process: approximately 239 apartment units, 80–100 for-sale dwelling units, an approximately 115-key boutique hotel, about 31,000 square feet of retail and structured parking, including relocation of WGNS radio as part of the first phase. Klein said the amendment was requested so each section's lender can be secured independently and each section carries its own delivery milestones and clawbacks.

Klein noted that the project has proceeded through planning and the Industrial Development Board and that the developer team has completed schematic design and pricing to support financing. The amendment divides the prior $26 million TIF into three pots aligned with the three-site sections; the development agreement preserves clawbacks and performance requirements intended to protect the county if a phase does not proceed.

A motion to send the amended Keystone TIF package to the budget committee with a positive recommendation passed on roll call with unanimous support from commissioners present. The budget committee will review the phased TIF structure and documentation before a final county-level incentive approval.