Alpharetta, Georgia – Questions about the future of North Point are drawing renewed attention to a financing tool that can sound more complicated than it is. At the center of the discussion is Tax Allocation District #3, covering North Point Mall and hundreds of acres around it.
For residents trying to understand what that means, one point is especially important: the district does not create a new tax or raise existing property tax rates. Instead, it is designed to capture future growth in property tax revenue and direct that increase back into the same area.
A Tax Allocation District, commonly called a TAD, is an economic development financing mechanism used to support redevelopment. When new development increases property values inside the designated district, the additional property tax revenue generated by that growth can be used for eligible public improvements within the district…