Norwalk economic development staff tout growth while council weighs TIF and incentive policy

Holly, the city’s economic development lead, told the council Jan. 15 that Norwalk welcomed 24 new brick‑and‑mortar businesses in 2025, added roughly 350 new jobs and nearly 100 million dollars in new commercial and industrial valuation in recent years. She said the city’s commercial improvement grant program and targeted incentives have supported downtown and corridor redevelopment.

Holly emphasized that incentives have been used largely to pay for public infrastructure that unlocks additional private investment. “We only do TIF rebates, and I think our top has been, like, 75%,” she said, explaining the city’s typical time and percentage windows for rebates and the tradeoffs that follow. She argued for cautious, project‑specific adjustments rather than wholesale removal of incentives.

Councilors asked whether the city should scale back incentives and whether a large data‑center project — currently discussed by staff — would change calculus. Holly said data centers are “kind of in their own world” and that a very large project could produce substantial tax revenues and broader capacity for smaller incentive programs, but she urged case‑by‑case evaluation.

The council discussed options including reducing maximum rebate percentages or shortening terms, and staff said they will convene a policy review after the state legislative session concludes to reassess financial and economic development policies.

Next steps: staff plan a policy review session this spring to consider the full set of incentive tools and to model outcomes for large projects such as the data center.