STAR CITY, W.Va. — The town of Star City will have adjustments to the town tax increment financing (TIF) district in order to increase economic development.
The Star City Council approved adjusting the requirements for development on the TIF primarily located on Boyers Avenue as part of a 4-0 vote (Councilor Gregory Epps and Recorder Steve Blinco were unable to attend) during their regular meeting Tuesday. This included the adjustments to Article 1317.04B of the town related to the Riverfront Business Overlay District that will aim to avoid any residential parameters required for property to be developed along the riverfront.
“It’s part of our TIF district down along Boyers, and we got the okay to sell the property through the TIF district,” said Star City Finance Director Lea Hassler, who presented the details to the council Tuesday night. “In order for it to make it more attractive for business owners, we wanted to make sure that it worked for them.”
According to Hassler, the former requirements of the Star City TIF mandated that a maximum of 75 percent of a developed property would be dedicated to commercial use. This became an issue as proposals for development of approximately .6 acres of property along Boyers Avenue were unable to move forward due to the residential requirements needed to proceed. With the parameters now setting a 100 percent commercial development requirement for future proposals within the TIF, there’s an expectation that the property will be developed.
“It was basically that 75 percent would have been retail on the bottom floor and residential on the top,” said Hassler on the provisions entailed before the council approved the change. “Requiring them to do that seemed counterproductive from a commercial perspective.”
Star City Mayor Sharon Doyle noted that the efforts to adjust the Star City TIF took place over the course of several years. Plans were formally announced as part of the 2023 Star City Comprehensive Plan to continue development within the TIF, with conversations taking place on a county level as early as 2021. The hope for the city is that the .6 acres of property can be developed much like other commercial developments, such as the Shake Shack and the Glass Factory, which have fully opened in the town over the past three years.
“We did have a developer reach out to us earlier in the year,” said Doyle. “And that’s what kind of got the ball rolling here. It was questions like, ‘What are we going to do with this?’ ‘Are we going to leave it like that?’ ‘Are we going to try to develop it?'”
With the TIF now formatted to have development proposals focused on commercial real estate, the hope for Star City officials is that the property along Boyers Avenue will be developed within the next year. The adjustment was consulted with bond counsel and was approved by the Monongalia County Commission ahead of the town council vote. With all the major approvals needed for more developments to be welcomed into the Star City TIF, the goal is to keep the positive momentum of economic development in Star City that has taken place.
“We’re still in the beginning phases of it, but it’s definitely a high probability that it will be available for sale,” said Doyle.