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WHAT ’ S DEVELOPING ?
Momentum continues in positive direction for commercial investments
rom the inside , it might be hard to really wrap your
Fhead around a city ’ s development boom . But , from the outside , it should be pretty obvious that Stillwater is making progress . “ If you heard about all the things we have going on happening in another town , you ’ d say ‘ Wow . Things are really happening there ,’” Brady Moore said as he stopped to think about how TIF projects and other commercial investments have been stacking up in Stillwater over the last few years .
At the time of this interview , Moore is serving as interim city manager . He was joined by Stillwater Deputy City Manager and CFO Melissa Reames as they looked back and forward into who has invested in Stillwater , and which projects merit investment from the City .
The City used Tax Increment Financing to bring Academy into Stillwater – an investment Reames said should pay out around early 2030 . TIFs rely on captured taxes , allowing the City to either front money for a new development , or rebate money on the back end .
While Academy was a success that sparked other TIFs , the next couple were slow going . TIF 2 was supposed to spur development on the west side of Stillwater but less infrastructure and not as much access to property has pretty much left it untapped . TIF 3 is considered a Downtown / Campus district . Though it took a while to get investors , once the first few signed on , people began to believe in downtown as a destination .
TIF 3 captures both property and sales taxes . It ’ s broken into three categories : General Impact , Significant Impact and Small Business Enhancements .
The first to apply and receive the grant was Everyman . Next came the Campus Corner Creamery as well as Hatch and Round House Bakery . The planned Hotel and Convention center slated for Duck Street is also technically part of TIF 2 . Brick Building LLC ’ s plans for a restaurant on 7th and Main were awarded but the City is awaiting a redevelopment agreement .
Because they know they can collect , Reames said they can take risks that traditional lenders won ’ t . And Moore likes to assure people , they aren ’ t just loaning money to developers .
“ All these funds , you hear these numbers that were invested into the project on some of this upfront financing , all of that will be paid back through the TIF , with interest ,” Moore said . “ Even if the increment doesn ’ t pay
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