More financial details are available regarding the proposal for a mixed-use 2,300-acre development off Highway 411 and Stamp Creek Road between Cartersville and White. Hines Corp. and Aubrey Corp. are seeking zoning approval for the development under a Tax Allocation District (TAD). A zoning hearing is planned for Dec. 16 but the discussion will center around the proposed quarry for another portion of Neel land.
The agenda includes revisions to the 16,500-acre Planned Greenspace Development District at Stamp Creek and Old Furnace Road. Those include adjusting single family residential space to a minimum 7,500-square-foot lots.
The meeting will be at 6 p.m. in the courthouse top floor Courtroom D, 135 W. Cherokee Ave. Cartersville.
The TAD proposal involving a portion of the Neel property has signed agreements from Bartow County Commissioner Steve Taylor and the Bartow County Board of Education (BOE) to divert increased taxes during building in exchange for more tax money later and property for a new school.
BOE Communications Director Alisha Evans answered questions about what that means and how the deal would look over the next 10 to 15 years.
The development corporations would still pay the property taxes as it does now during construction, according to Evans. The school system will start receiving 25 percent of the higher residential property tax whenever a residential home is built. Although the year 2029 was mentioned in the meeting, Evans said tax collection on newly-constructed homes could happen before or after that date. The 2029 date is the year developers gave when they expect a portion of the project to be completed.
According to statements made during a recent BOE presentation, the BOE will not initially collect any increased property taxes on developed commercial properties. The development will continue paying its current land taxes on undeveloped and developed land, with the BOE collecting a greater percentage of the higher taxes for developed land throughout the agreement until it reaches 100 percent of taxes on both residential and commercial properties.
Evans said taxes on homes in this development will be paid for by property owners as any other Bartow County property owner when they buy a home or commercial property.
Developers will still pay for all the cost of construction and Evans said a TAD allows for several types of funding for investors. That is selected by the developer and not the school system.
Estimates of how much money the BOE will gain in new taxes haven’t been done, according to Evans. The county will also benefit from sales taxes on commercial businesses but that estimate hasn’t been determined. It also hasn’t estimated the taxes it expects to divert until it starts collecting 100 percent of the taxes on all properties.
“That amount is not known as it will be determined on the values of the different properties when built,” Evans said in an electronic answer to questions.
Evans said the TAD is approved for 27 years but can expire earlier if the bonds are paid back sooner. The BOE will get 100% of all taxes for the development when the TAD is completed.
Part of the agreement is the development companies will donate land to the BOE for a new school, presumably to accommodate more than 800 students expected to live in the development and area.
Evans said the exact amount of acreage to be donated hasn’t been determined but the state requirement is to meet a minimum of 10 to 15 acres. She said the school system will be working on the exact land needs in 2025. The agreement allows two years to determine how much land is needed for the school.