WILLMAR — The Willmar City Council on Monday, following a public hearing, approved the creation of a tax increment financing district for Trident Development's senior housing project. The TIF district will also implement a new tool that will assist the city in providing for additional affordable housing needs throughout the city. Trident Development is proposing the construction of Waterview Senior Housing to be located at 2001 Ninth St.
S.E. Willmar Planning and Development Director Christopher Corbett explained to the council that a state statute allows the city to collect a portion of the additional property tax revenue generated by the TIF district to be used for other housing initiatives throughout the city.
Tax increment financing is a tool that communities use to capture a portion of the property taxes above the current value that results from a new development or redevelopment project. That portion of the taxes may be used toward development costs. In this case, the city would retain 20% of the additional property tax revenue created by the new development to create the new housing initiative, and Trident Development would be reimbursed 80% annually to address an estimated $2.
5 million funding gap for the $22.3 million senior housing project. Mikaela Huot of Baker Tilly explained to the council that the term of the agreement is 26 years or $2.
5 million, whichever comes first. Throughout the life of the tax increment financing agreement, at least 20% of the housing u.