Area residents packed the City Council Chambers on Monday to hear details on the Boathouse Bay Development project. Essentially, the hearing focused on the Public Financing aspects of the project and David Drown, Economic Development Director for Silver Bay, was on hand to explain the manner in which the project is being funded.
Boathouse Bay is a Planned Unit Development that, when completed, will occupy 26.8 acres of land on what is being called Bayview Park. The development will include 28 villas, 18 bungalows and space for 7 single family homes, and will combine vacation rental properties with some permanent residential lots. Homes in the development will cost between 4 to 7 hundred thousand dollars and when all is said and done, the development will be worth $25 million. The land for the planned development was sold to John Anderson for $1. Anderson has promised to complete the project in five years. If for some reason this doesn’t happen, the ownership of the land reverts back to the city.
The project is being funded using Tax Increment Financing (TIF), which is commonly used by municipalities to pay for public improvements to infrastructure like streets, sidewalks and similar improvements. TIF funding is also used to encourage developers to build on undeveloped land. As it relates to Boathouse Bay, the TIF will last for 9 years during which time, property taxes from the development will be collected and will be used to cover the cost for public utilities that will go to the development. The projected cost of city owned sewer and water systems is $2.2 million. $500,000 of IRRRB funds will be used along with the TIF money to cover the city’s investment in the project. The Developer is responsible for all of the other costs related to the development. Drown stated that while property taxes from the development will increase the tax base for the city, Silver Bay residents’ property taxes will not be affected. Drown went on to say that he is at a loss for how the manner in which the project is being financed could be a liability for the city.
Some in attendance at Monday night’s meeting expressed concern about vacation rentals when there is a clear need for affordable housing in Silver Bay. Attendees were reminded that the downtown development plan will include provisions for affordable housing. Clearly, there was a lot of information for residents to digest at Monday’s meeting. That being said, the Council has held several public hearings pertaining to the Boathouse Bay project in an attempt to keep the public informed.
There are a few items that are yet to be resolved to make sure that the project will meet all of the city’s requirements. With that in mind, the Council has called for another special meeting before giving the final green light to the project. That meeting is scheduled for August 17th at 10:00 a.m. at City Hall.
In other business, the Council approved a resolution brought by Bolton & Menk for a feasibility study for the new road that is being proposed behind the shopping center that will connect Banks Boulevard to Outer Drive.
Finally, Marcus Small joined the Silver Bay Police Force and was sworn in at Monday night’s meeting.
