CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Charleston City Council members met to discuss the possibility of establishing a special financial district to use future tax revenue to fund improvements of a 65-acre property downtown.
Council members unanimously approved the first reading of the Union Pier tax increment financing district Tuesday evening.
The goal of the tax increment financing district, or TIF, is to encourage the growth and redevelopment of Union Pier. Using a TIF system would mean public tax dollars or funds would not be used to subsidize the private development. It would instead use tax revenue generated by redevelopment projects to create a space that the community can enjoy.
District 10 Councilman Stephen Bowden explains this is the very step in the process.
“We gave it first reading last night, because the process has to get started. The county has to consider it, the school board has to consider it, and we want to give them as much time as possible. This won’t come back to us for a little bit,” Bowden says.
He believes leaders voted unanimously to show that they are open to ideas for funding the major project in tax effective ways.
“I’m pleased that the council sees how crucial a TIF for Union Pier is to keeping the public’s interests at the forefront of this redevelopment,” Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said in a news release. “Parks, public access to the waterfront, affordable housing, and resilience measures are all possible with a TIF and we moved those goals forward tonight.”
Cogswell proposed the idea of establishing a TIF in May.
District 8 Councilman Mike Seekings feels confident this could be a good move.
“In and around union pier that has seen no growth, no development and no infrastructure for decades, four or five decades. So this is the start of a process of thinking about what the east side of the peninsula will look like and how we can build infrastructure to then encourage three dimensional growth in that area. And it’s a tried and true process. If it’s done right, we have TIF districts all over the city,” Seeking says.
The next step is for the Charleston County Council and the Charleston County School District to begin a 45-day process to hold votes on establishing the TIF district.
The TIF funds will be managed with public input and strict oversight, to ensure Union Pier evolves according to the community’s needs, City of Charleston spokeswoman Deja Knight McMillan said. The Community Development Committee would have the role of laying out more detailed plans for the pier in the future.
“If you look at Union Pier and you stare at it through those chain link fences, and you look what’s across there. It is an area desperately needing water, sewer, electricity infrastructure, perimeter protection, water management, affordable housing, all the things that TIF monies can be used for,” Seekings says.
Right now, Union Pier generates no tax revenue, but Knight McMillan said redevelopment could bring in up to $22 million annually for our schools after it is fully developed.
“Really, union peers shouting out for us to at least think about what it’s going to look like in the future,” Seekings says.
The city said TIFs have proven to benefit projects in the past, like the King Street revitalization, and leaders hope to replicate the success with the Union Pier development. Bowen emphasizes that there will be opportunities for input along the way.
“Nobody is cutting a check to anybody for hundreds of millions of dollars right now. If it goes to its ultimate conclusion, these things, these improvements, will be paid for by taxes generated from this development. So to be paid for by the developer. It’s just a way of sharing these costs,” Bowden says.
The city is set to discuss TIF and Affordable Housing during a special meeting of the Community Development Committee scheduled for Sept. 26. The meeting will be open to the public and shared online.
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