Jaffrey voters to decide whether to add W.W. Cross building to TIF

By ASHLEY SAARI

Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Published: 01-27-2023 9:22 AM

Jaffrey voters will decide in March whether to expand the Downtown Tax Increment Finance District to include the 11-acre site of the former W.W. Cross building.

The Webster Street building, formerly a tack factory, has since been used to house small businesses but has been empty since a major fire in 2020 which destroyed a portion of the building. A portion of the building that was destroyed by the fire has been removed, but little other remediation has been done since.

During its December meeting, the town’s Economic Development Committee voted to support a proposal to expand the Downtown Tax Increment Finance District, or TIF, which directly abuts the property, to include the W.W. Cross building and lands.

A TIF district designates that when any improvements are made in a specific area of town, the additional increased taxes from the improvements are captured in a fund. That money can be used to redevelop that district.

Jaffrey Planning Director Jo Anne Carr noted that the W.W. Cross building is ripe for redevelopment.

“Having it in the TIF district will generate revenues as the property gets redeveloped,” Carr said.

Currently, the property is valued at $312,000, though Carr noted that value was determined before the fire and a portion of the building was taken down, so it is likely less valuable than that now.

During its meeting on Tuesday, the Jaffrey Select Board agreed it was a good move to expand the district to include the W.W. Cross building, with Selectman Kevin Chamberlain noting that it may come down to the town having to take ownership of the building.

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“We know this is going to become a town burden, and we’re going to have to have some mechanism to fund things,” Chamberlain said.

“I completely concur,” said Chair Frank Sterling.

Carr said the current owners of the building do not have the capital needed to restore or remove the building or do the necessary remediation to make it ready for redevelopment, nor has there been any significant interest from buyers or investors with the property in its current state.

The town has been looking into opportunities to address the needed remediation of the site, including grants from the Environmental Protection Agency. Carr said there is an opportunity to receive grants that could cover the entire cost of remediating the site, but for the town to apply for them, it would have to own the property.

“It would be much more attractive to a developer as an empty piece of land,” Carr said.

The town has been working with the EPA and a contractor to create a redevelopment plan for the area to help the town identify the most-appropriate use for the property, based on its size and geography, a study which is expected to be completed by this spring. It will help determine the actual cost for remediation, as well as potential redevelopment ideas and the possible restrictions from contamination on the site from its time as an industrial factory.

By law, establishing or expanding TIF districts must be done by a vote of Town Meeting. The Select Board agreed to put forth a warrant article in March, and to scheduled a  public hearing on the issue on Feb. 13.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

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