EASTON, Pa.- Northampton County Council has rendered its long-awaited decision on a special tax financing plan tied to the redevelopment of Wilson borough’s old Dixie Cup plant.
And the decision is no.
Thursday night, Council voted 5-4 against the $26 million TIF, or Tax Increment Financing plan, which is a tool that allows for future gains in real estate values to be used now to pay for redevelopment costs.
Democrats Ron Heckman and Lori Vargo Heffner joined Republicans John Brown, Tom Giovanni and John Goffredo in opposing the TIF, which had been sought by developer Skyline Investment Group. Commissioners Jeff Warren, Ken Kraft, Kelly Keegan and Jeff Corpora, all Democrats, voted yes.
Skyline is converting the old factory, which closed in 1983, into 405 apartments. It’s a $185 million redevelopment.
Under the TIF, Skyline would have continued to pay taxes on the more than 10-acre property’s pre-construction value but would not have paid the reassessed tax value on the completed building for 20 years.
The Wilson Area School District and Wilson borough also had to approve the TIF, and did.
Some of the county commissioners who opposed the TIF Thursday night said they felt shut out of the process of crafting its parameters.
Goffredo equated the TIF to an unfair tax break for the developer and said he couldn’t support it. “I want to see the Dixie get rehabbed and I think it will get rehabbed,” he added.
Commissioners in the opposition also said Skyline should be contributing more to help solve an affordable housing shortage in the county. Under the TIF terms, the company would have paid $1.1 million to the county, rather than include units that qualified as affordable housing in the building itself.
Commissioner Brown said he thought the developer was “getting off easy.” Echoed Vargo Heffner: “I think $1.1 million is an insult in terms of a building that’s going to house so many people, is going to take rents that’s well beyond anything an affordable or even an accessible person can get.”
The average monthly rent for the Dixie Cup apartments will be just under $2,500.
Brian Bartree with Skyline Development told 69 News, the project will still move forward, without the TIF. “It’ll be okay,” he said. “It’s good to get the people who don’t support it on the record so that the community can see where they stand, and we’ll show those people that we’re going to do an amazing job with or without their support.”
County Executive Lamont McClure issued a prepared statement after the decision was reached. “After more than four decades of vacancy and false starts, Northampton County Council’s refusal to approve the proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan speaks to how out of touch they are with the residents they represent,” he wrote.
A lengthy public hearing was held on the TIF proposal last month. Some members of the public who spoke then returned on Thursday night to reiterate their opinions. “Here we are again,” said John Burke, president of Wilson borough council. “It feels like Groundhog Day all over again.”
Burke reminded council of Wilson’s support for the project and the TIF. “We are just hoping you guys can see how we feel, truly believe what we believe, and vote yes on this stuff.”
Wilson resident James Bundro, who also spoke before council last month, returned on Thursday to voice his opinion that residents would be getting a raw deal under the TIF. “A lot of the older people in the neighborhood who have paid their taxes in a timely manner and for a long time, it doesn’t seem fair to them to have somebody come in and get a big tax break for 20 years.”
The renovation of the Dixie Cup plant is already underway. Bartee has indicated his redevelopment for the vision may include more than just the old factory. He recently purchased the former LA Fitness building on S. 25th St., which is in front of the Dixie plant.