By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Salina City Commissioners have officially voted to consider the expansion of the Salina Downtown Redevelopment District, for the reason of including a proposed hotel.
ORIGINAL: City Commission interested in new hotel for downtown Salina
The new hotel proposed by Lighthouse Properties back in September, Springhill Suites is the hotel Commissioners are currently interested in to be built behind the Old Chicago restaurant (along the 200 block of S. 7th Street).
Springhill Suites would consist of of 80 rooms (could be changed) and a parking garage of about 380 spaces.
This property is currently city owned.
In order to fund this potential project, the City would use local incentives such as the Downtown TIF (Tax Increment Financing), also known as the Salina Downtown Redevelopment District.
TIF is a financing method used to fund development costs by borrowing against the future increase in property taxes, generated by a specific development project.
In short, the Downtown TIF is a economic development tool that pushes for the city’s business development and the city would not be raising the tax rate on existing homeowners in the district. Instead, TIF would be used to capture the new tax revenue generated by the projected increase in property values due to the improvements and also use that revenue stream to finance the initial cost of those improvements.
Taxpayers outside the district may not see a direct change in their individual tax bill related to that specific revenue stream.
However, TIF can also indirectly force other taxing authorities to raise their taxes by diverting property tax revenue that would normally go to them (such as schools, county buildings and/or fire departments).
The proposed parking garage is not in the district, so in order to use those Downtown TIF funds the garage has to be amended into the district beforehand.
In order to expand the district for the parking garage, the commission needed to approve it by saying they are interested and conduct a public hearing, which would take place at date to be determined.
Notice of the public hearing needs to be provided to the owners of land in the district, to the Saline County Commission and to USD 305.