Stakeholders in the Madison Square area came away from last week's
Grand Rapids City Commission meeting jubilant after a unanimous vote to establish a
Corridor Improvement District (CID) in their district. The group spent the last 12 months working with residents, business owners and property owners to develop a vision plan for the district.
A CID is a tax increment financing (TIF) tool established by the state of Michigan to help local governments fund public infrastructure improvements in commercial corridors. The Madison Square CID district runs north-south along Madison SE from Umatilla to Garden, and east-west along Hall SE from Eastern to Jefferson.
Next steps include appointment of a CID board by Mayor George Heartwell, and drafting of a detailed development plan by the board. The board will submit the plan to the city for approval.
"The city is coming through with their Combined Sewer Overflow project, working on Hall Street right now," says Rebekka Kwast of
Neighborhood Ventures. "When they're done there will be better infrastructure, decorative street lights and landscaping." Neighborhood Ventures,
Lighthouse Communities and the Madison Square community developed the CID proposal.
The CID board will use the TIF funding to build on the city's improvements by implementing the community's vision to make the corridor more walkable, improve public transit and attract and retain businesses.
Kwast expects TIF funding to be modest – about $5,000 in 2010 up to an estimated $45,000 by 2035 – but the CID designation enables the board to supplement funding through the purchase, sale and lease of property, to hold fundraising events and to market the district to attract businesses, thereby increasing the tax capture.
"I think the CID is going to help to promote a more positive image of the area," Kwast says. "It's going to give leadership to the area and allow local businesses and property owners to instigate change."
Source: Rebekka Kwast, Neighborhood Ventures
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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