A proposed tax increment financing district for Laurens Road has cleared another hurdle.
Greenville County Schools board of trustees voted 8-4 in support of the city of Greenville’s Laurens Road Redevelopment Plan during its Nov. 19 meeting. The plan establishes an approximately 223-acre tax increment financing district along the corridor from Haywood Road to Verdae Boulevard.
Greenville City Council gave initial approval to the redevelopment plan on Oct. 14. A 45-day public comment period is currently underway. Every taxing authority – including the city, Greenville County and GCS – has an opportunity to vote on the implementation of this plan. Greenville County Council approved the Laurens Road TIF on Nov. 5.
The city of Greenville will hold a public hearing and the second reading of the Laurens Road Redevelopment Plan on Dec. 9.
Tax increment financing, or TIF, would allow the city to use additional property tax revenue to fund public infrastructure projects within the district. This investment would benefit Verdae Development and Hollingsworth Funds who plans to redevelop approximately 90 acres along Laurens Road into a mixed-use district.
Approximately 3,000 residential units are estimated to be created through the redevelopment of Laurens Road. GCS Planning and Demographics Department projects that 510 new students will reside within those units.
Tax increment financing would freeze the property tax allocations within the Laurens Road TIF district for the next 30 years. As the TIF district is redeveloped, the area’s assessed property values would increase, thus generating additional property tax revenue.
Fifty percent of the additional property tax revenue will be allocated to the taxing authorities, in addition to their current tax revenue. Superintendent Burke Royster said GCS would receive around 57% of that 50% of additional tax revenue, per the redevelopment plan agreement.
Read more about the proposed Lauren Road TIF District
According to the district, GCS currently receives approximately $360,000 in annual tax revenue from the area proposed for the TIF district. At the end of the 30 years, GCS is estimated to receive $18 million in annual tax revenue.
Additional items
- Six school board trustees gave their oath to office on Nov. 19. This included five reelected trustees and the newly elected trustee for Area 19, Scott Cline.
- The board unanimously approved the acquisition of 219.8 acres of land along Woodside Road for “future growth.”
- The board approved the architect selection for the expansion of Fountain Inn Elementary into a K-8 school.
