Photo from Broad Metro website
The entrance to the Stadium Trace Village development off John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover, Alabama
The developer of Stadium Trace Village has asked the Hoover City Council to delay consideration of a tax incentive package for the second phase of his development until May 6.
The council was scheduled to consider up to $30 million in tax rebates this coming Monday, April 15, but developer William Kadish of Broad Metro told the council he wants more time to have meetings with residents of the Trace Crossings community to explain his plan to them and hear their concerns.
Councilman Curt Posey, who led the council’s work session tonight in the absence of Council President John Lyda, said he believes the council is amenable to that delay request.
Meanwhile, Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato on Wednesday night sent council members a new tax incentive proposal that is different from the one he proposed on March 18 and different from the one the council was considering at its last action meeting on April 1.
The mayor’s new proposal put a performing arts center back as part of the development agreement, as the council had already done, and raised the cap on tax incentives from $22 million to $28 million.
However, Posey said the mayor’s new proposed cap is almost irrelevant because the mayor is maintaining his stance that the city and the developer should evenly split sales and lodging tax revenues on a 50/50 basis for 15 years.
Because the second phase of Stadium Trace Village is expected to bring in only about $2 million in new sales and lodging taxes per year, it’s extremely unlikely the developer would get close to the $28 million cap and be able to recoup his development costs, Posey said.
With the city getting half of sales and lodging tax revenues, the developer would only gain $15 million in sales and lodging tax revenue, plus potentially $6 million in property tax rebates for a total of $21 million, Posey said.
Broad Metro’s upfront development costs are expected to be about $26 million, and total development costs should be $250 million, Kadish has said.
The incentive deal already on the table with the council would give the developer 75% of sales and lodging tax revenues for 15 years, 100% of construction-related sales taxes over 15 years for property in Stadium Trace Village Phase 2 and 100% of sales and lodging taxes over 10 years for the new parts of Stadium Trace Village Phase 1 (such as the Village Green and hotel properties).
This would help the developer recoup his costs and make a reasonable profit, Posey said.
There are other benefits to the city with the proposed development agreement, Posey and Councilman Steve McClinton said.
The city would gain a long-desired performing arts center, the Hoover school system would gain additional tax revenues each year, and the developer has agreed to spend $2.25 million to fix adjacent communities’ stormwater drainage problems that he didn’t create, Posey and McClinton said.
The second phase of Stadium Trace Village also is slated to include a Golf Suites tiered-golf bay and entertainment center similar to Top Golf, a 25-bed surgical center, four medical office buildings, 120,000 square feet of retail and dining space, and 1.5 miles of walking and bicycle trails.
Council President John Lyda is the only council member who has spoken against the most recent proposal submitted by Broad Metro. Lyda said he didn’t want to do business with Kadish because Kadish was convicted of a felony in 2002. Kadish admitted to a felony theft charge but said he self-reported it, made restitution and has worked hard to move forward in a positive way over the past two decades.
Councilman Sam Swiney said he doesn’t think the incentive package sought by Broad Metro is unreasonable and doesn’t believe the developer can recoup his costs with a 50/50 split of sales and lodging tax revenues. However, he wants to review the mayor’s new proposal more thoroughly, hear what city staff members have to say and give the developer more time to meet with residents.
Councilman Derrick Murphy said he hasn’t fully made up his mind yet. He believes the city has to find creative ways to create long-term revenue growth so it can meet the needs of residents, and he believes Broad Metro has a proven track record of successful development with phase one of Stadium Trace Village.
However, he, too, wants to hear more feedback from residents before making a final decision, he said.
The May 6 council meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Hoover City Hall. The council also still is meeting this Monday, April 15, at 6 p.m. as well.
