Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter and City Attorney Sean Surrisi discussed the potential of a new project for TIF District 1 funds during Tuesday night’s Plymouth Redevelopment Commission.
Surrisi explained the potential for a unique funding opportunity for a comprehensive renovation project for City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce Building. The preliminary design includes facade work for the Chamber building, exterior work on city hall, the creation of a new foyer in the city building with an elevator. Major changes to the office area including incorporating the current chamber space into the front office. The project would include moving the Mayor’s office to the second floor with a new and expanded Council Chambers. The renovation work would also include creating a separate self-contained space for the Chamber of Commerce.
Surrisi said RQAW has a funding model called Installment Payment Contract that works out well for projects of this size, $2 million to $2.5 million. He said the funding could have up to a 40% reduction in final cost if a bond issue was used for the project.
The Plymouth Redevelopment Commission would be the funding mechanism for the project that would be built on a bank loan with a 2 to 3 % fixed rate over 10 years.
It was suggested that the Redevelopment Commission only release $20 million of assessed value in TIF 1 compared to the $30 million in AV they have released the last number of years. That would increase TIF # 1 revenue by $250,000 to $300,000, enough to pay for the loan payment.
The Redevelopment Commission took no action, this was basically informational. The Mayor and City Attorney will be meeting with the Chamber Board of Directors today on the plan. It’s unclear how the property might change hands.
