Baird/Bayer Development asked the Salem Lakes Village Board on Tuesday to permit staff, legal counsel and financial advisors to begin statutory steps toward creating a tax increment district (TID) for a proposed 35‑acre mixed‑use project called Brenner Fields.

Developer SR Mills told the board the southern portion of the site would include a commercial outlot, 46 single‑family lots and 34 duplex townhomes (68 units total). He said the firm expects finished‑lot fees and impact fees to generate roughly $10,000 per unit and estimated total value from finished product at about $48 million. Mills described the project financing as a pay‑as‑you‑go (PAYGo) TID: the developer would fund horizontal infrastructure up front and recover a portion of future increment taxes over time rather than ask the village to issue general‑obligation bonds.

Frank Grama of Ehlers, the village’s financial adviser, explained the statutory requirements and risks. "The 'but‑for' test is fundamental," Grama said, summarizing the requirement that the project likely would not proceed as proposed without the proposed assistance. He cautioned that PAYGo structures expose developers to market and timing risk — the developer must create the value that produces the incremental taxes that repay the investment — and said advisors will ensure any deal is capped so the developer is not unduly enriched.

Trustees pressed for clarity on several points: the expected timeline (staff and the developer said infrastructure could begin in 2026 with completion of horizontal work over 1–3 years and full build‑out nearer 2030), whether school districts would receive near‑term tax benefits (Ehlers and trustees explained that some tax revenue attributed to new development is captured by the TID for the district term and shared when the TID closes), and estimated infrastructure costs (the developer and Ehlers quoted horizontal infrastructure in the range of $7.5 million to $8.27 million). One trustee summarized the local tradeoffs: new homes and pupils versus the delay in capturing tax increment for existing jurisdictions.

The board did not adopt any final financing or zoning actions at the meeting; trustees gave consensus direction for staff, legal counsel and Ehlers to proceed with the required studies, to present pro formas and to take the matter through the plan commission and joint review board as prescribed by Wisconsin law. The plan commission is scheduled to hear zoning and comprehensive‑plan amendments on Jan. 21; any creation of a TID would follow the multi‑step statutory process and require a development agreement if the board advances the district.