City Council approves tax break for Standard-Coosa-Thatcher redevelopment

The Standard Coosa Thatcher mill, which was damaged by a 2-alarm fire in July, is seen Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The city will consider an 18-year tax break for the $57.5 million redevelopment of the property into a loft apartment complex.
The Standard Coosa Thatcher mill, which was damaged by a 2-alarm fire in July, is seen Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The city will consider an 18-year tax break for the $57.5 million redevelopment of the property into a loft apartment complex.

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The council voted 8-0 to approve an $881,647 agreement for the Bell Park project, which will repurpose the demolished Charles A. Bell School site in Alton Park. Councilman Larry Grohn abstained from voting.

The Chattanooga City Council has approved an 18-year tax break for a developer to transform the long-abandoned Standard-Coosa-Thatcher textile mill into an affordable live-work-play artist apartment complex.

The derelict site, which was partially damaged in a fire in July, occupies 350,000 square feet of property within an area of industrial blight just west of Missionary Ridge. The mill is located at 1800 S. Watkins St.

On Tuesday, the council voted 9-0 in favor of the the tax abatement for the $57.5 million Standard Coosa Lofts project.

Councilman Yusuf Hakeem offered praise for the plan presented by developer Tim Boyle, president of St. Louis-based City Property Co., and its reception by city leaders.

"I haven't heard anyone perceive this project as being one of concern, but one we've been waiting for," Hakeem said.

Boyle's plan calls for repurposing the existing structures to create 170 rental units, spread between five buildings ranging from two to five stories tall. The complex will occupy about 300,000 square feet, he said, adding the summer fire destroyed about 16,000 square feet of the existing site.

"We can make it beautiful again," Boyle said of the 100-year-old industrial facilities in a recent presentation to the council.

Rental units range from 800-2,500 square feet, and the complex will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

The tax break, known as a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT), requires the developer to restrict tenant income to 60 percent of the area's average median income (AMI) for every unit for the duration of the agreement period. The AMI for a family of four in Hamilton County amounts to $61,300, according to 2016 Housing and Urban Development figures. At 60 percent AMI, the family could earn no more than $37,720 and still be eligible to rent an apartment at Standard Coosa Lofts.

A one-bedroom apartment at the complex would rent for $615 a month, while two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments would rent for $732 and $839, respectively, based on current HUD calculations.

The PILOT is set to launch in 2019, at which point the developer will not pay city property taxes on improvements made to the site until 2033. That year begins a five-year phase-in period for full taxation. In 2033, the developer pays full city property taxes at 20 percent; by 2037, the developer will pay taxation at 100 percent.

Boyle also said the mill's redevelopment would generate "positive ripple effects" by providing affordable workforce housing within 3 miles of downtown Chattanooga.

After Tuesday's vote, Boyle said he will propose the PILOT agreement to the Hamilton County Commission in the near future.

Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_tfp.

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