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Battle Creek planners present LDDA/TIF corridor plan to boost housing, transit and flood resilience
Summary
City planners presented an LDDA/TIF development plan for the Beckley Road corridor that would promote housing infill, daylight a buried creek, add park space and pursue placemaking and transit improvements. The plan includes outreach results and a fiscal analysis estimating modest net tax revenue from redevelopment.
City officials heard a detailed presentation Nov. 18 on a proposed Local Development Finance Authority (LDDA) and tax-increment financing (TIF) plan aimed at the Beckley Road commercial corridor and surrounding neighborhoods.
Eric Kho, senior planner with Progressive, told the commission the plan grows out of a subarea study and master-plan amendment and large-scale public engagement. "We were able to get in touch with over 3,000 community members. Two thousand of them responded to a digital survey or provided comments," Kho said, outlining six focus-group interviews, three pop-up events, two open houses and a walking audit in the study area.
The presentation identified a set of physical constraints — excessive surface parking, private roads in poor condition, limited public space and several retention ponds of unclear maintenance responsibility — and highlighted opportunities to add housing, improve transit stops and reduce car dependence. Kho said the area is denser than many expect, with "over 3,000 people" living in the study area and strong bus ridership on Capitol Avenue.
The plan singles out three redevelopment areas (Mingers Creek Mall site, Lake View Square Mall and North Capitol Avenue) and proposes zoning flexibility to allow more multifamily housing where apartments already exist. Kho said fiscal modeling showed potential net tax revenue increases at several sites, estimating roughly $70,000 net at one mall site, $65,000 for infill scenarios and an additional $10,000 net with 12 acres of new park space.
On the Sears site, Kho cautioned that the parcel sits in a FEMA flood zone, complicating redevelopment because of flood-insurance and lender requirements; the plan proposes "daylighting the creek" — restoring an open waterway and adjoining park — as a long-term option to improve flood resilience and spur surrounding investment.
Commissioners focused on next steps and governance. Asked how projects would be prioritized, staff recommended that the commission could rank projects or appoint a commissioner to the LDDA board; the LDDA board would then make investment decisions and the commission would retain annual budget approval. "There are checks and balances there if the commission feels like this isn't really going the direction that we're comfortable with," a staff member said.
Several commissioners voiced support for lower-cost infrastructure moves such as re-timing traffic signals and improving pedestrian crossings, and for appointing an elected representative to the LDDA board to ensure public oversight. Commissioner Chris Simmons, who served on the plan's subcommittee, said the planning work benefited from wide engagement but that translating plan goals into funded projects requires careful prioritization by the LDDA board and commission.
The presentation closed with staff offering options for the commission: rank projects, appoint representatives to the LDDA board and allow the LDDA to pursue opportunities within the plan’s flexibility. No formal votes were taken on the plan during the meeting; staff said additional public input and board-level decisions will follow.
