One Town’s Approach to Luring Retail Back to Downtown
Otis White with Civic Strategies brings to our attention a Chicago suburb that is offering tax rebates – with strings:
“When you start hearing things over and over again – they need help,” Arlington Economic Alliance Chairman Tony Guido said.
The board preliminarily approved a loose program that would give small businesses a 33 percent tax rebate for three years with several strings attached. The village would need to set aside about $50,000 to $60,000 each year, and approve each rebate agreement as it came up, Perkins said.
Businesses looking for tax breaks must be smaller than 5,000-square-feet and would also have to make improvements to their business or facilities. They would have to maintain regular store hours, which include staying open weekends and evenings.
Read the whole story here.
I highly recommend those who are on Twitter and are interested in urban planning follow Otis at @otiswhite
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Comments
Regardless of whether this specific program would be worth adopting, I like the fact that this city is trying to come up with ways to lure retail downtown. I’m not completely sure the powers that be in OKC understand how much lack of significant retail is affecting downtown vibrancy. It’s one of the missing pieces of the puzzle, IMO.
I would recommend a wait a see over a 3-5 years how it works out for the bunisesses longevity before OKC jumps in to something like this.. I think they are really being on the low side of what they could/should offer.