The board of one the city’s tax zones on Friday approved allocating $170 million in future property tax revenue for projects ranging from the purchase of land at Hemisfair to build a new Spurs arena to the construction of a state-of-the-art animal hospital for the San Antonio Zoo.
The board of the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ), chaired by District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, voted 7-4 to fund the projects — even as some questioned whether the expenditures were appropriate use of the tax money.
The total amount approved by the board includes $60 million to buy the land for the arena, $10 million to subsidize the zoo’s $50 million animal hospital plus $55.9 million in financing costs, according to details provided by city staff…