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Pendleton RDC approves declaratory resolution to create 'Heritage Hub' allocation area, paving way for developer‑backed bond
Summary
The Pendleton Redevelopment Commission on May 28 adopted Declaratory Resolution 26‑01 to begin a multi‑step approval for the Heritage Hub economic development area. Staff said the project includes a 97‑room Fairfield by Marriott, a 70/30 TIFF split on hotel parcels, a minimum taxpayer guarantee to secure about $162,936 annually for the town and a $367,000 trail contribution by the developer.
The Town of Pendleton Redevelopment Commission voted May 28 to approve Declaratory Resolution 26‑01, starting a seven‑step process to establish the Heritage Hub economic development allocation area and move toward a developer‑backed bond to finance a mixed‑use project.
A town presenter said the roughly 12‑acre site east of I‑69 would be divided into five buildable parcels: three outlots intended for small retail, restaurants or medical offices and two rear parcels where a Fairfield by Marriott hotel has filed site and building permits. The presenter identified developer representatives Resh Patel and Parish Patel and said the hotel is planned as a four‑story, roughly 97‑room facility with pool and fitness amenities.
Matt Fry, the town’s municipal adviser, told commissioners the financing structure under discussion is a developer‑backed bond repaid from tax increment financing (TIF/TIFF) revenues generated in the allocation area. "That starts a TIFF clock," Fry said, explaining that a 25‑year capture period typically begins when debt is issued on an allocation area. Under the proposal presented to the commission, TIFF revenue from the two hotel parcels would be split 70% to the developer and 30% to the town; TIFF from the three outlots would belong entirely to the town.
To protect municipal revenue in the event assessments are lower than projected, the developer agreed to a minimum taxpayer agreement intended to ensure the town receives roughly $162,936 a year in TIFF proceeds. Fry explained the minimum applies if assessed values come in below the assumptions used in the financial model; if values are higher the ordinary 70/30 split would produce larger payments to both parties.
The developer also committed $367,000 toward trail and sidewalk improvements to improve connectivity around the site and to the town’s business park trail under design.
Town counsel and staff emphasized that the declaratory resolution is the first of several statutory steps and does not itself finalize an economic development agreement or authorize debt. "This is the first step in the process," the legal advisor told the commission, noting plan commission review, town council consideration and additional EDC steps would follow before any bond or final agreement is executed.
During discussion a commissioner disclosed an abstention, saying they would not participate in the vote because their organization is a financing partner for the proposed hotel; the transcript did not name that commissioner. The commission then moved, seconded and voted in favor of Resolution 26‑01 with no opposing votes and one abstention.
In public comment a resident asked what would happen if the hotel closed after a few years. Staff and counsel said the structure is designed as a developer‑backed financing and that the town would not assume the developer’s debt obligations; banks or other lenders would address foreclosure or takeover scenarios and protections would be memorialized in the future economic development agreement.
Next steps outlined by staff include plan commission review (tentatively scheduled), town council consideration, further EDC review and eventual return to the RDC for confirmatory action and any necessary bond ordinances. If the process proceeds as outlined, the presenters said the bond closing and construction steps would follow later in the calendar of approvals.
