The Bartow County Board of Education will be getting paperwork by 9 a.m. Wednesday to consider allowing money diverted from county property taxes to pay for infrastructure to accommodate a Tax Allocation District (TAD) project along 411 between Cartersville and White.
Under the deal, the development company wouldn’t pay some taxes as development starts but would reinvest the money to create infrastructure for the development. The county and BOE would start receiving a portion of property taxes when the development is functioning in 2029, plus sales taxes.
Walter O’Shea, an attorney representing Heinz and the Aubrey Corps., presented the plan to the BOE during its work session Monday night. The board said it wasn’t ready to make a decision but was willing to move through the process quickly. The BOE attorney was directed to pull all the information including a resolution together by Wednesday for the board to read and consider.
The mixed-use development would require considerable taxes collected from Bartow County residential and commercial properties to pay for infrastructure, which would significant impact money going to the county school system. The corporations promise to contribute land for a new school in the development with a guarantee of no city annexation either to Cartersville or White. The resolution would sunset in 2051.
The 2,300-acre development would consist of shops, high-density residential and single family residential homes, parks and green space, sidewalks and the school. The plan is to make the development self-inclusive where people could walk, bike, or drive within the community.
O’Shea gave numbers on the cost compared to the revenues generated by increased property and sales taxes from the property, saying the BOE would have up to $77 million in cash and property it could toward the new school if bonds are considered as an option.
The community would start functioning in 2029 with an estimated 89 new students attending the additional county school every year after. Development is expected to be completed in 2037, according to O’Shea.