COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A public hearing and the adoption of a resolution to establish a Commercial Rehabilitation District on the south side of Coldwater are on the agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting.
The city is looking to establish the district along Division and South Clay Streets to connect two groups of properties zoned highway commercial. Economic Development Assistant Audrey Tappenden says it would create a corridor where rehabilitation of commercial property in encouraged and made feasible for local businesses.
Under a state law passed in 2005, Tappenden says Commercial Rehabilitation Districts encourage rehabilitation projects by enabling land and business owners to seek abatements of up to ten years on taxes generated from new investment.
She points out that while tax abatements have been used for other projects such as the restoration of the Kerr Building, the attraction of the Clemens Food Group to Coldwater, and the expansion of Envirolite, there are fewer incentives offered to commercial properties in general despite the role they play in local economies.
