EASTON, Pa. – Northampton County Council on Thursday night introduced a publicly subsidized plan to help a developer pay for the redevelopment of a former factory building.
A tax increment financing (TIF) plan would benefit Skyline Investment Group as it redevelops the former Dixie Cup factory in Wilson Borough into an apartment complex featuring 405 total units. The TIF district reviewed Thursday night would encompass 12.58 acres and include the former factory and the adjacent parking lot at 315 S. 24th St. It would be known formally as “1921 at Dixie Avenue TIF District.”
The TIF would allow future gains in real estate value to be used now to pay for redevelopment costs. The program was first developed in 1990 as part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s TIF Act. In a TIF district, the base assessed value of the property will be set at the time the district is created. As new development is constructed and assessed property values increase, the real estate tax revenue generated on the assessed value above the base is captured…