Tax revenue of district to pay for public improvements

EASLEY - Despite meeting roadblocks with school board and county officials, City Council pushed forward with plans to transform the shuttered Saco Lowell plant into a booming economic center.

Designed to look much like Cherrydale Pointe in Greenville, the Easley Town Center will be home to retailers, restaurants and service providers.

To help draw in those businesses and thereby generate more sales and property tax income, the city and the developer have sought the cooperation of the school district and county in developing a Tax Increment Financing district.

That TIF would allow revenue collected above the established rate to be redirected toward public improvements to roads and bridges, including the widening of the Prince Perry bridge over the railroad tracks at U.S. 123.

Neither the board nor the council would support the effort and so Easley leaders decided to go it alone, passing a resolution Monday to redirect city revenue toward the TIF.

“The city’s intention is to create a TIF district by itself, without county or school district participation,” said City Administrator Fox Simons. “This signals our intention to move forward.”

The agreement is between the city and the proprietors of Easley Commons Retail Associates L.L.C. and Cedarwood Development, Simons said.

In addition to the creation of the TIF district itself, the city will allocate $1.7 million to the project, Simons said.

The city isn’t giving up on the project and still invites the county and school district to get on board, he said.

“We would certainly would like their cooperation but they’ve already made their statements,” Simons said.

The next step is figuring out how the TIF will be financed, Simons said.

“The city will have issue bonds, that’s the creation of the district, to support the public infrastructure,” Simons said. “That will be done through additional ordinances and actions.”

Council members approved the resolution unanimously.

“This is something that is excellent for the city of Easley,” said Councilman Chris Mann. “What we are looking to do is something that will not penalize the citizens of Easley or saddle them with an extra burden. It’s something