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Developers outline $223 million Uptown District plan and seek multi-tool incentives
Summary
City staff and developers presented a detailed Uptown District plan covering 40+ acres with multifamily, entertainment and retail uses and asked council to consider incentives including a Chapter 100 abatement, a CID, a TDD and a capped sales‑tax reimbursement to fund public infrastructure.
City staff and the project team presented an updated Uptown District plan that would deliver mixed‑use development across roughly 40–41.5 acres, with an estimated total project cost of about $223 million and substantial horizontal public‑infrastructure needs.
Tyler (project presenter) told the council the site corridor work alone is roughly $10 million, multifamily phase 1 is about $65.5 million, and entertainment uses were modeled at about $55 million. He said the team is seeking a package of incentives — a Chapter 100 tax abatement pilot, a 1% Community Improvement District (CID) sales assessment for in‑district retail, a Transportation Development District (TDD) sales tax, and a capped 1% general‑fund sales‑tax reimbursement — to reimburse qualified horizontal costs such as roads, stormwater, utility relocation and a parking garage. "Out of the gate, without incentives this project shows a negative return," the presenter said, arguing that the tools are needed to make private investment viable.
Staff emphasized the proposal is structured so that the incentives primarily recycle sales tax generated inside the district back into the project and that no direct general‑fund appropriation would be required. The team proposed a $400,000 annual cap on the general‑fund sales‑tax reimbursement and modeled multi‑decade scenarios; the presentation included projections for peak construction employment (~356 construction jobs at peak), more than 600 on‑site retail and service jobs at full build‑out, and multi‑year sales‑tax capture that the presenters said would eventually return revenues to the city once caps are met. "We feel very confident about these public‑infrastructure cost estimates; we used multiple commercial general contractors and contractor bids where available," a staff presenter said.
Several council members asked for the supporting documents and time to review line‑by‑line cost estimates and legal petitions; staff committed to provide the full set of underlying spreadsheets, LOIs and the draft agreements for the council to review before any formal vote. The presenters said they expect to file required petitions and notices in mid‑August to allow an official council discussion and first reading at the council’s second August meeting.
