The City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Public Schools, and Milwaukee County, in addition to other taxing bodies, will have access to close to $19.4 million in tax base following the proposed closure of three of Milwaukee’s more than
90 tax incremental finance districts or TIDs.
The closures will also result in around $800,000 in existing increment funds being released to those taxing bodies.
The city’s Zoning, Neighborhoods, and Development Committee voted Tuesday to recommend the closure of TIDs 52, 58, and 65.
MilliporeSigma property
Located east of North Teutonia Avenue and south of West Douglas Ave on the city’s northeast side, TID 52—the largest or most successful of the three districts—was created in 2003 after Aldrich Chemical (now
MilliporeSigma) was forced to vacate their former facility at 940 W. St. Paul Ave. to make way for the reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange.
TIF districts allow cities to funnel “increment”—property tax generated on new developments in a district—into a pot that can be used to help pay for improvements, like private developments, environmental clean-ups, road construction, infrastructure work and demolition projects.
TID 52 was created to help pay back the roughly $5 million dollars the company spent to construct a new building at 6000 N. Teutonia Ave. With the company now paid back in full and having more than satisfied its commitments to employ 550 individuals, the Department of Community Development has recommended the closure of its TID.
When the district was created in 2003, and in the ensuing 19 years, the tax base available to city, public and the county for general taxing purposes, was frozen at roughly $10.2 million. When the TID is officially closed, those taxing bodies will have access to the full current assessed value of taxable property in the district, which is expected to free up an additional $18.1 million more in tax base.
The closure recommendation comes after the TID has provided increment to reduce the debt service on three underperforming TIDs in the city and provided funding to affordable housing programs in the city.
TIDs 58 and 65
TID 58 was created in 2005 to support construction of a new, market-rate, single-family subdivision near North 20th & West Walnut streets. The project stalled during the Great Recession of 2008, but more recently there has been renewed interest in the development, according to the city. Three lots have been sold and homes are under construction. An additional three lots are reserved, with closing and construction anticipated to commence this year, staff said. When the district officially closes it will free up $418,800 in tax base for general levy purposes.
Nearby TID 65, located at North 20
th and West Brown streets, which was created in 2006 to develop housing in the Fond du Lac and North neighborhood, also suffered setbacks due to the recession. The plan was to create up to 60 detached single-family homes and 24 townhouses. While the development has fallen far short of that goal, the project plan funded public infrastructure, site acquisitions, remediation costs, and loans/grants for rehabilitating existing homes in the district, city staff said.
“We feel that it is a good time to close the TID,” David Schroeder of the Department of City Development told committee members on Tuesday.
Upon TID 65's final dissolution, taxing bodies will gain access to an additional $864,900 of tax base.
