10/18/2007

REDEVELOPMENT REVENUE TO FUND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENTS
Alleyways to be repaved between 2nd and Emerson;
portion of Park Grove to receive street improvements

Beech Grove, IN – August 21, 2007 -- For the first time in the City of Beech Grove’s history, money collected from the City’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district will be used to fund neighborhood improvements, meaning that property tax dollars collected from specific developments in designated areas of the City will be reinvested into neighborhoods.

Beginning this week, alleyways running north/south and adjacent alleys running east/west between 2nd Street and Emerson Avenue (from Churchman Avenue north to Albany Street) will be repaved. Harco Asphalt Paving, Inc. also will improve the drainage along this area as they repave the alleys. The entire project will last approximately 15-20 working days (weather permitting).

Project work will be divided into sections so area property owners and merchants experience only short-term interruptions in parking. During the time improvements are being made in specific sections of these alleyways, parking will be eliminated. Notification of this work has been communicated to those living and working in the affected area.

In the near future, a portion of the Park Grove neighborhood will receive street improvements, including repaving and new sidewalks and curbs, thereby enhancing the safety and mobility of residents in that area.

Funding for all of these improvements is made possible via Beech Grove’s TIF district revenues. Within the authority of the Beech Grove Redevelopment Commission (BGRC), specific areas of the community were designated as redevelopment areas. This designation meant that the current assessed value in those areas was “frozen” and any new development in those areas is called “incremental” or growth of assessed value above the frozen level.

When Wal-Mart and Lowe’s built new stores on South Emerson Avenue (in the TIF district), this new development allowed the BGRC to classify the full assessed value of the new Wal-Mart and Lowe’s as “incremental growth of the redeveloped area” so the City could receive proceeds from these developments.

According to Beech Grove Mayor Joe Wright, this neighborhood investment between 2nd and Emerson is an excellent example of the benefits reaped from Beech Grove’s TIF district.

“Tax Increment Financing – also known as TIF-- should be viewed as Today’s Investment for our Future. In addition to the alleyways and Park Grove improvements, we have leveraged 100 percent of the property tax dollars received from Wal-Mart and Lowe’s development and invested that money into redevelopment projects such as Emerson Avenue.

“In turn, the Emerson Avenue area can spur new economic development opportunities. The bottom line is that TIF dollars pay for economic growth while driving future economic revitalization, all without raising taxes,” Wright said.

Statutorily designated as managers of Beech Grove’s TIF district, the five-member BGRC commits new dollars received from property tax dollars paid for by new developments in a TIF district to repay bonds borrowed for redevelopment projects such as Emerson Avenue and other future redevelopment projects.

According to BGRC President Terry Dilk, the results from the recent community survey showed that nearly 94 percent responded that improving Beech Grove neighborhoods was important to them.

“Almost 44 percent said their neighborhood would be improved if their streets were repaved. We listened and are responding, utilizing a unique revenue stream that provides for community improvements without burdening taxpayers’ pocketbooks,” Dilk said.
For more information on Beech Grove’s redevelopment projects, visit: www.betterbrighterbeechgrove.com

For questions, interview requests contact:
Susan Nelson
523-7135
snelson418@comcast.net

Susan Nelson 523-7135 snelson418@comcast.net