Chattanooga council hears detailed pitch to use TIF and a local sales‑tax capture to rebuild Northgate Mall infrastructure

City Council members spent the bulk of their Nov. 18 meeting on a presentation and extended Q&A about a proposed tax‑increment financing package to replace aging private utilities beneath Northgate Mall in Hixson. Sherita Allen, the mayor’s senior adviser for economic development, described a developer‑backed plan to “replace and upgrade a 50‑year‑old sewer, stormwater and water infrastructure” serving the mall and adjacent properties to enable higher‑use redevelopment.

Why it matters: The developer says new underground infrastructure is necessary to attract private redevelopment. Staff said property‑tax increment alone would not cover the cost and proposed adding a local‑option sales‑tax capture to fill a gap, making the city’s reimbursement package a combination of property‑tax increment and a capped portion of future local sales taxes.

Staff summary and numbers: Allen cited a total projected construction cost of about $8,935,537 and described a third‑party review that recommended limiting public financing to the $7.7M–$8.7M range. “Based on the recommendation coming back from the third party reviewer … we’re going to ask that that be admitted down to 8.7,” Allen said. Using a 2024 base year,…