Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Brownfield Redevelopment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sterling Heights council approves transformational brownfield plan for Lakeside City Center
Summary
The council unanimously adopted a transformational brownfield Act 381 TIF resolution for the Lakeside City Center, authorizing an initial phase that requests $270 million in tax-increment financing and sending the state portion to the Michigan Strategic Fund on June 23. Developers and staff said the project will include housing, retail and public infrastructure.
Sterling Heights’ City Council voted unanimously to approve a transformational brownfield tax-increment financing (TIF) plan for the Lakeside City Center redevelopment, moving the project to the Michigan Strategic Fund Board for state-level approval on June 23.
The resolution covers an initial development phase that officials described as roughly 1,300 multifamily units, 180 independent-living units and about 150,000 square feet of retail. Senior economic development advisor Luke Bonner summarized the fiscal structure, saying the initial phase requests $270,000,000 in combined tax-capture financing and outlining separate city and developer bonding plans.
Developer Colin Carby, development director for Lionheart Out of the Box Ventures, told the council the project will be built in phases and stressed local participation. “When it comes to local construction participation, yes, we’re absolutely looking to to partner and work with everyone locally,” he said.
Bonner described the financing components: an estimated $27 million city bond for the initial phase, a $43 million developer bond, and projected local and state property tax captures over a 30-year brownfield period. He said total local real-estate tax capture for the 30-year TIF is estimated at $119 million and state property-tax capture at $129 million, which together comprise the $270 million request presented to the council.
Council members and residents focused questions on labor standards, prevailing wages and whether local contractors would be used. A union representative at the public hearing asked how tax-revenue estimates were calculated and what wage assumptions had been applied; Bonner said the team used local construction estimating (SAXI) and local assumptions when forecasting labor and materials.
Finance Director Jennifer Varney clarified how captured revenue will be used during the development period. Varney said the city’s negotiated share of excess captured revenue is roughly $32 million over the plan period and that those dollars must be spent on eligible construction-related activities within the brownfield district, such as a satellite fire or police station and park investments.
Mayor Taylor and other council members framed the plan as a long-term investment in a declining site: the Lakeside taxable value has fallen substantially in recent years, and council members said redevelopment was necessary to prevent continued decline. Councilmember Sierowski moved to adopt the resolution; the motion carried 7–0.
The MSF/MEDC Board will consider the state portion of tax capture on June 23. If approved there, staff said development would proceed in the phased approach described to the council.
