MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — One of the largest economic developments in Monongalia County is on track to be expanded.
The Monongalia County Commission unanimously approved an application to the West Virginia Department of Economic Development that would expand the Harmony Grove TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District by 85 acres. This was approved at the request of Adrian Holdings LLC, the current owners of that parcel of land under consideration to be a part of the TIF and supported by Steptoe & Johnson attorney and County Bond Counsel Tom Aman, who presented the details on the request to the commission during their regular meeting Wednesday.
“What’s occurring here is very straightforward, just adding one parcel to the district on its far, northern boundary, it’s about 82 acres (along with some extra land),” said Aman.
The 85 acres of land under consideration for expansion is located between Interstate 79 and property owned by the Monongalia County Board of Education. Located between the property where Skyview Elementary and Westwood Middle schools currently sit, the property also fronts a portion of River Road and is a short walk away from the Morgantown Industrial Park. According to property owners, the plan is to develop the land into some form of residential development, which is expected to be negotiated in the coming months if the TIF expansion is approved on a state level.
“We’re in the process of trying to utilize the property for future development, mostly residential would be the idea,” said Adrian Holdings LLC. developer Patrick Adrian. “So is this just an ask from us to put us into the TIF,” he said.
According to Aman, the addition of the 85 acres of land located near the I-79 and the two county schools will not affect the use of TIF funds used to support the development of the Harmony Grove TIF District. Unlike the issuance of approximately $21.5 million in bonds in 2021 to support the development of Mountaintop Beverage, the added property would use private funds to support any residential development that would take place. This will allow for the current bond issuance to not be affected with the addition of the property into the Harmony Grove TIF District and for future revenues to repay any outstanding debts involved in the development.
“The idea is to bring that parcel into the boundaries of the district so that if and when that residential development does occur, the TIF can capture those incremental revenues,” Aman said.
With the commission’s approval of the application to expand the Harmony Grove TIF District, the ball is now in the court of the West Virginia Department of Economic Development. According to Aman, if approval is given on a state level, the Monongalia County Commission would then have to vote for final approval, with the property being incorporated into the TIF in the following weeks if all goes along as scheduled. With the decision now in state hands, it’s now a wait-and-see type of situation for developers and county officials.
“With your (Monongalia County Commission) approval of submitting the application to the Department of Economic Development, then they would have up to 60 days to approve it or ask for additional information,” said Aman. “At which time, assuming it’s approved, it would come back to the county for a final order,” he said.