The Lawrence City Budget & Finance Committee on Nov. 24 tabled consideration of a tax‑increment exemption (HDIP/TIE) for 216 Canal Street LLC — a proposed redevelopment of the historic Pemberton Mill into 99 residential units — after members pressed for more data on affordability and past program performance. The committee voted to table the item and requested staff provide a historical spreadsheet of HDIP/TIF awards, affordability commitments and compliance records before the project returns to the council.

The project’s principal, Jesus Trejo, described plans for 99 units (primarily one‑ and two‑bedrooms, with a few three‑bedrooms) and 136 on‑site parking spaces, and said the developer will rebuild a long‑out‑of‑service bridge to restore access. Trejo told the committee some of his existing buildings already “meet the affordability requirements in the Merrimack Valley,” and explained why partial affordability obligations (for example, opting into a Chapter 40R overlay that typically requires 20% affordable units) can complicate financing. “When you go to a bank…they almost factor in that because I’m already meeting this threshold,” Trejo said, describing how third‑party audits and additional equity can make mixed‑income deals infeasible for private developers.

Planning Director Dan McCarthy outlined the toolset: a city‑level TIE/HDIP provides a local incentive that can make developers eligible to apply for state HDIP tax credits; Chapter 40R is an overlay permitting district that can offer density and permitting advantages but typically ties benefits to affordability thresholds. McCarthy said the city’s HDIP/TIE structure commonly stages incentives over five years (illustrative schedule: 50/40/30/20/10 percent) and that state low‑income housing tax credits are another path that historically has supported fully affordable projects.

Council members repeatedly asked whether any of the 99 units would be income‑restricted. Councilors said Lawrence faces acute affordability pressure and expressed concern about awarding incentives for primarily market‑rate housing without clear public benefits. Council President Giovanni Rodriguez and other members requested a list of past TIE/HDIP/TIF awards, with data showing which projects included affordability commitments and whether those commitments were met.

After discussion the committee voted to table the application and directed staff to return with: (1) a spreadsheet of prior HDIP/TIE/TIF agreements and award terms for the relevant period, (2) compliance records or state reporting for projects that used low‑income tax credits, and (3) a developer rent roll (with tenant names redacted) and additional financial details the developer offered to provide. The committee’s tabling motion passed on a roll call.