In case you missed it in the Smyrna Neighbor yesterday, the Smyrna City Council unanimously approved a development agreement with Halpern Enterprise which will allow for the redevelopment of Belmont Hills at the corner of Atlanta Road and Windy Hill Road in Smyrna to commence. Below is an aerial photo of the current shopping center.
Rather than waiting to see how the Tax Allocation District (TAD) and Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) issues will be resolved as part of a special referendum in November, the City Council has decided to get creative. In January, the Smyrna City Council approved a $23.5 million tax allocation district subsidy for the redevelopment project.
The project was awaiting county and school board approval, but in February the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the portion of property taxes apportioned to schools could not be used to fund redevelopment projects under the current law. With that ruling, approximately half of potential TAD funding for projects was eliminated. This ruling impacts not only Belmont Hills, but also the upcoming Jonquil Village.
Under the new agreement with Halpern Enterprise, the company will self-fund the TAD eligible expenses (infrastructure improvements) and be reimbursed from tax revenue generated by county and city property taxes as a result of the project. It will be up to Halpern Enterprise to acquire the up-front funding to move forward with the project. With this new agreement, the City of Smyrna will not be issuing bonds and Halpern Enterprise bears all the risk. Click here, if you’d like to read the original Smyrna Neighbor article.
The new development, to be called Belmont, currently calls for
- 93,500 square feet in commercial office and retail space
- 344 condos
- 286 townhomes
- 174 luxury rentals
- 8 single family homes
Belmont will be a dynamic, mixed-use development. The 47.5 acre development will feature a pedestrian
friendly atmosphere with wide sidewalks and bike paths. Additionally, it will offer a variety of architectural styles, patios, roundabout intersections and extensive landscaping.
[tags]Belmont Hills, Jonquil Village, TAD Financing, City of Smyrna, Smyrna Real Estate[/tags]
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