A proposed Roanoke City ordinance would open the door to partial real-estate tax exemptions for large-scale urban-center developments that meet a $50,000,000 qualifying-investment threshold.

Deputy City Attorney David Collins introduced the measure on Jan. 5, describing a two-step program in which developers file an application for an initial site of at least 100 acres. "Once this $50,000,000 investment is reached, that opens up the parcels within the initial site to receive a partial tax exemption," Collins said during the council briefing.

Under the draft ordinance, qualifying investment may include infrastructure, renovations, design and engineering, zoning and planning expenses, and sales of individual parcels within the initial site. The ordinance would give property owners 15 years from the date the threshold is met to file for exemptions; exemptions would run with the land for 15 years. New construction projects would be required to finish within three years and renovation projects within two years of approval, the briefing said.

Collins and staff said the threshold could be met through a mix of private investment and other funds used for site work; they noted brownfield remediation or federal grants that pay for site improvements could count depending on how funds are applied. Councilmembers asked whether the definition of "investment" would include third-party or grant-funded work; Collins said it "very well could" but staff would refine the ordinance language before final consideration.

City staff singled out potential candidate areas, including the Riverdale project, and noted rezoning to urban-center designations would be part of the vetting process for specific proposals. Collins told council that because the program does not levy a new tax, it does not require a public hearing and is scheduled for council consideration on Jan. 20.

If adopted, the program is intended to incentivize redevelopment of large, challenging sites by sharing tax relief with property owners who achieve the defined investment threshold.

The council will take up the ordinance for potential adoption at its Jan. 20 meeting.