By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
    South Portland city councilors took a step further in implementing a new set of tax increment financing districts (TIFs).
    Revenues generated from TIFs are kept separate from the general fund and must only be used for economic development purposes. The three TIFs before the council on Monday night would fund projects in those districts as well as projects throughout the city. The council unanimously approved the economic strategy plan for the city at the Feb. 5 meeting and TIFs are one way of funding that plan.
    One of the reasons for holding Monday night’s workshop was to discuss and review drafts of the TIF applications for the Jared Jewelry TIF, the Hannaford Brothers TIF, and the Downtown South Portland TIF.
    Joan Fortin, of Bernstein Shur, assisted the city in composing the applications as a subcontractor to Planning Decisions. Fortin was joined at the workshop by Chuck Lawton, of Planning Decisions; Bob O’Brien, chair of the TIF committee; and Tex Haeuser, the city’s Planning and Development Director.
    In presenting the applications, Fortin said, “We tried to paint a picture for the DECD (Maine Department of Economic and Community Development) because they approve the TIF.”
    The Jared TIF will be the first to be established in the new Maine Mall Improvement Sector. The TIF will reserve approximately $2 million in new property value from the redevelopment of the former gas station. Future projects built in the sector will add millions of dollars or more of new valuation. Future TIF applications will be brought before the council and the DECD and with approval, will be added to the TIF fund for the Maine Mall.
    The Hannaford Brothers TIF will capture approximately $13 million in new property value from the Dairy Goods renovation and a Dry Goods expansion at the Hannaford Brothers Distribution Facility in the Rummery Industrial Park. It is the first of several proposed TIFs for the Rigby Railyard sector.
    Finally, the Downtown TIF will differ from the previous TIFs in that it is exempt from a statutory cap that states no more than five percent of a community’s land can be in a TIF district.  All of the Knightville Creek area will be included in the TIF from the beginning, thus future developments will not require new TIF applications. The value figures for this TIF have not yet been determined. The Jared and Hannaford TIFs will both be diverting funds to the Downtown district
     Fortin said the TIF applications were accompanied by a project list for all three TIFs that would demonstrate which TIF would fund each project. The council would decide year to year what projects would be funded by TIF funds. Projects inside the Maine Mall area would include, but not be limited to, improving pedestrian transportation by adding sidewalks and pedestrian passages, improving vehicular transportation by adding signage and creating a two-way access between the I-95 spur and the mall, improving green spaces by updating parks and trails, and storm water improvements.
    Projects for the Downtown district would include improving vehicular transport at the certain intersections including Broadway and Route 77, Broadway and Cottage Road, and Mahoney School and Mill Creek Park. Improvements would also be made to the Broadway and Main Street cross-town corridors.
    Infrastructure improvements for the Downtown district would include improvements to parking, paving, lighting, and curbing.
    Other projects include updating parks and trails, creating a mixed-use commercial/cultural center, and creating a fund for a permanent economic development revolving loan.