ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 About halfway through its scheduled three-decade-plus run, Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone is ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s one-of-a-kind special tax district has generated about $1.2 billion in development since it was written into law in 2009 by state legislators, according to the man charged with overseeing the district.<\/p>\n
Steve Bamford, who leads the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority, gave that presentation to Allentown City Council members Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s fair to say it\u2019s exceeded expectations.”<\/p>\n
Steve Bamford, ANIZDA executive director<\/p>\n
That influx started with the PPL Center, which opened in 2014, and since has brought many modern office buildings and residential complexes to Center City.<\/p>\n
The 128-acre NIZ district also covers the western bank of the Lehigh River, where Jaindl Properties is building out its Waterfront complex.<\/p>\n
The NIZ \u2014 the only taxing district of its type in Pennsylvania \u2014 incentivizes developers to invest by letting them use state and local taxes to pay off bank loans or bonds they used to fund their projects.<\/p>\n
Those incentives are set to dry up in 2042, according to the law that established the zone.<\/p>\n
Though most tax revenues generated within NIZ borders are funneled back to developers, the city, Lehigh County and the Allentown School District receive millions in additional tax payments each year from the district, according to a report on its effectiveness.<\/p>\n
Tax revenues generated from the NIZ also have helped fund a series of downtown public improvement projects, including the Allentown Transit Center and ArtsWalk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s fair to say it\u2019s exceeded expectations,\u201d Bamford told LehighValleyNews.com when asked to grade the NIZ\u2019s impact so far.<\/p>\n
Serious questions remain<\/p>\n
But serious questions remain about its overall benefit to the city and its residents.<\/p>\n
The NIZ has helped transform Center City Allentown by letting developers use more than $1 billion in state and local tax revenues to support their construction efforts since 2009. <\/p>\n
That number grew almost $75 million last year.<\/p>\n
Allentown\u2019s most prominent developer has benefited from more than $150 million in NIZ tax revenues over the past three years.<\/p>\n
Financial records<\/p>\n
But that money has gone to fewer than a dozen companies, Bamford said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
City Center Group \u2014 helmed by J.B. Reilly \u2014 has been the major benefactor of the NIZ, using the district\u2019s tax incentives to help fund a slew of projects. <\/p>\n
Those include the PPL Center, a series of office towers and residential buildings, and the Renaissance Hotel revamp.<\/p>\n
Allentown\u2019s most prominent developer has benefited from more than $150 million in NIZ tax revenues over the past three years, financial records show.<\/p>\n
Jaindl Properties received $61.5 in NIZ funding for its 615 Waterfront office facility and looks set to get about $69 million more to build its River House apartment complex next door.<\/p>\n
And Alvin H. Butz Inc. used more than $28 million in NIZ funding to build its corporate center in the 800 block of Hamilton Street.<\/p>\n
Other NIZ-funded projects include the $65 million Da Vinci Science Center, a $16 million project to revamp the Americus Hotel and St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network\u2019s renovations at the Sacred Heart campus.<\/p>\n
NIZ not for small biz: ANIZDA officials<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Gerlach questioned whether that investment benefits small businesses in downtown Allentown.<\/p>\n
ANIZDA Chairman Sy Traub said it\u2019s not meant to.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, this program is not really geared to facilitate small business.”<\/p>\n
Sy Traub, ANIZDA board chairman<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, this program is not really geared to facilitate small business,\u201d Traub said, noting many would not \u201cgenerate enough taxes\u201d to access NIZ benefits.<\/p>\n
Small businesses \u201cbenefit indirectly\u201d from the NIZ through better buildings, potentially lower rents and additional foot traffic spurred by other properties and companies that take advantage of the district\u2019s tax incentives, Bamford said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey benefit from the fact that there is \u2026 business being developed all around them,\u201d Traub said.<\/p>\n
The Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority learned Wednesday night that plans that would have changed the taxing district’s borders did not pan out.<\/p>\n
Council President Santo Napoli, who owns two downtown businesses, said he doesn\u2019t directly benefit from the NIZ because he doesn\u2019t generate much taxes by selling clothing.<\/p>\n
But the businesses and buildings made possible by the NIZ\u2019s incentives provide him with a \u201ccaptive audience; and that\u2019s what helps me survive,\u201d Napoli said.<\/p>\n
Vicky Kistler, who runs Allentown\u2019s department of community and economic development, said small businesses would struggle to take advantage of redevelopment-related tax incentives through the NIZ.<\/p>\n
But City Hall has other support for small businesses, such as a revolving loan fund and mentorship programs, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NIZ itself may not be the tool for that small business, but we have those tools,\u201d Kistler said. She urged more local owners to take advantage of Allentown\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n
Council President Santo Napoli, who owns two downtown businesses, said he doesn\u2019t directly benefit from the NIZ because he doesn\u2019t generate much taxes by selling clothing.<\/p>\n
Gerlach also questioned whether gentrification within the NIZ helped fuel positive statistics, such as a reported 16-point drop in the area\u2019s poverty rate and a 58% rise in the median household income.<\/p>\n
Controller Jeff Glazier said much of the NIZ was populated by commercial properties when it was established, limiting how many people were pushed out by development.<\/p>\n
He estimated about 100 people who lived within NIZ borders may have lost their homes because of its launch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 About halfway through its scheduled three-decade-plus run, Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone is ahead of schedule.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,77946,50937,121,120,51109,77947,3879,45227,77948],"class_list":{"0":"post-173801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-and-neighborhood-improvement-zone","10":"tag-allentown-business","11":"tag-allentown-headlines","12":"tag-allentown-news","13":"tag-allentown-niz","14":"tag-allentown-small-business","15":"tag-allentown-taxes","16":"tag-neighborhood-improvement-zone","17":"tag-pa-taxes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}