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Georgetown awarded five‑year downtown development district renewal; council told incentives, priority sites to be adjusted
Summary
Town staff told the Georgetown Mayor and Council the state recommended a five‑year renewal of the Downtown Development District (DDD). Presenters described the program’s incentives, recent private investment, priority sites added to the plan and next steps including ordinance readoption before the July 31 expiration.
Georgetown officials told the Mayor and Council that the town’s downtown development district renewal application was recommended for approval and that the governor’s signature is expected soon, extending the designation for five years.
The presentation, delivered by Brian Olac and introduced by Jean, outlined the DDD’s purpose: to encourage private capital investment in the historic downtown, promote housing and job opportunities, and attract new businesses. By statute the DDD is limited to 105 acres; the renewed map reaches roughly 104.6 acres after adding northeast parcels and some land on North Bedford Street while removing properties that are ineligible for incentives.
Brian said the state offers the most generous incentive in the program — up to a 20% rebate of qualified project costs — and the town supplements that with building‑permit fee discounts, facade improvement grants, business‑license fee waivers for new downtown businesses and a 10‑year phased property‑tax exemption for qualifying developments. "We want to put our best foot forward on that," he said, summarizing adjustments to make the program more competitive and accessible.
Presenters reported outcomes from the prior DDD period: approximately $11.5 million in private investment, hundreds of projects receiving fee discounts, thousands in facade grant distributions, business‑license waivers, and roughly $30,000 in property‑tax exemptions applied to newly added property to the tax rolls. Two large projects cited as having received rebates were Splash Laundromats and the JB Wagamman building; pending projects include "Georgetown Apartments 2" (about 12 multifamily units) and a mixed‑use project on North Ray Street.
The renewal package added a rotating list of priority projects that the town can update annually; example sites include 107 Depot Street (Aspira school) and several other vacant parcels identified as developable. Recommended next steps included refreshed marketing to builders, consideration of a permanent town economic development working group, and revisions to several local incentive policies (for example, expanding business‑license fee waivers to existing downtown businesses that expand from home‑based operations).
Officials cautioned that the existing DDD ordinance technically expires July 31 and that readoption will be required for the renewed designation to take effect by Aug. 1. The presenter said the town will bring ordinance and incentive changes to future council meetings once the governor signs the renewal.
What happens next: the town manager’s office and consultants will prepare ordinance readoption language and proposed incentive adjustments for upcoming meetings; the governor’s final signature is the last administrative step noted by staff.
