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Editor’s note: This is the first installment in our Calling All Readers feature, wherein Craig Press readers ask follow-up questions about stories that ran previously.
The proposed Craig Urban Renewal Authority would designate two sections of the city as urban renewal areas, creating the potential for property owners in those areas to apply for tax increment financing to help improve their property.
Tax increment financing invests the increase in future property tax revenue that is anticipated from the improvement of the property into the improvement itself.
Another proposal, the Yampa Valley Adventure Center, a business looking to locate in the old Centennial Mall, is planned within one of those urban renewal areas, and is counting on tax increment financing to be approved to make the redevelopment of the mall possible.
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Craig City Council approved the formation of the Craig Urban Renwal Authority’s first urban renewal area Tuesday, and now CURA is close to being able to accept applications for tax increment financing.
Urban Renewal Area 1, which encompasses the old Centennial mall and areas north and south of it, not including the former Kmart building, was given the go-ahead by City Council at Tuesday’s meeting. That’s the first of two potential Urban Renewal Areas.
Property owners within the plan area will receive a notice of the plan within the next seven days, according to the attorney for CURA, Carolynne White. After that, applications can be accepted for URA 1.
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Nearly 130 acres of Craig are on their way to a classification that will make them easier to redevelop and improve.
The Craig Urban Renewal Authority is close to finalizing the first of two areas, mostly in the city but also some on the south side, that will offer property owners within their boundaries the opportunity to apply for financial help with capital improvements on the property.
“Urban renewal authorities are formed to help alleviate blight within certain areas,” said Craig’s economic development manager Shannon Scott, who is heading up the project’s administrative development. “That doesn’t necessarily mean the buildings are dilapidated or in bad shape; it can also mean there’s a need for infrastructure improvement, things like that.”