City Commission to consider expansion of downtown district boundaries

City Commission to consider expansion of downtown district boundaries

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The urban district administered by the Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority could more than double in size under a boundary expansion that the Tallahassee City Commission will consider today.

Established in 1971, the special assessment district's boundaries have remained unchanged since that time, extending from Tennessee Street south to Pensacola Street and from Gadsden Street west to Bronough Street.

But the changing real estate picture and new public and private investment south of that original zone prompted local leaders to revisit the boundary issue and adjust with the times.

The city commission will decide today whether to have staff draft an ordinance to expand the downtown improvement area's boundaries and return it for public hearings in October.

Jay Revell, executive director of the TDIA, says it's only taken a few years for such projects as the Franklin Boulevard improvements, the completion of Cascades Park and the infrastructure work on Gaines Street and subsequent private development there to reshape the area.

TDIA Draft Boundary Map

 
"I think, and my board believes, that those projects established sort of a new definition of downtown," Revell said. He thinks the next wave of development in the downtown area is going to occur on the east end of Gaines Street and toward the park.

Also a part of the mix is Florida State University's plans for upgrades to the Civic Center, some of which are already taking place. The FSU concept known as the Madison Mile is a corridor of housing, commercial and entertainment development stretching from the civic center west to Doak Campbell Stadium.

There are plans for building a convention hotel on the civic center property and development of five unoccupied blocks along Madison Street east of Macomb Street. FSU's College of Business will be relocating there, too.

Each commercial property in the district pays an additional increment of property tax to support the Downtown Improvement Authority's efforts to market the district, promote its events and sponsor activities that bring people downtown.

The city's Office of Budget and Policy performed a financial impact analysis of the proposed expansion and found that there is no immediate or future negative financial impact to the city of Tallahassee. The TDIA also did a survey in 2012 of property owners and received "an overwhelmingly positive response" to expanding the district, according to the city.

In addition, city staff determined that the proposed expansion would create no new taxes because the additional properties are all nontaxable.

Revell says the TDIA expects the civic center, the park and the activity on Gaines Street to be economic drivers that will increase the appeal of living and working downtown. The authority's role is to advocate for smart development there and market those downtown attributes.

"The more people that are in this area, who spend their lives and their dollars in this area, the better off everybody will be," Revell added."