Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Overview; Bishop
CITY OF HOPKINS
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: Nick Bishop, Finance Director
Date: June 14, 2022
Subject: Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Overview
_____________________________________________________________________
PURPOSE
To give a brief overview of the City’s TIF districts.
INFORMATION
TIF is at tool cities use to further their development goals. Hopkins has used TIF to
facilitate key redevelopment projects that have had meaningful impacts on the City.
Currently the City has 4 active TIF districts and 1 pending TIF district.
• TIF 1-2 Entertainment District
o Redevelopment of Suburban Chevrolet into movie theater, performing arts
center, restaurant, office and retail space
• TIF 1-4 Market Place and Main
o Redevelopment of Collision Center into 53-unit market rate apartments, 7
townhomes and retail space
• TIF 1-5 The Moline
o Redevelopment of Johnson Building into 241-unit market rate apartments
• TIF 2-11 Supervalu Excelsior Crossing
o Redevelopment of former SuperValu complex into 800,000 sq/ft of
corporate office space
• TIF 1-6 325 Blake (Pending)
o Redevelopment of 325 Blake Road Site into approximately 600
apartments, 125 senior cooperative units, 50 townhomes and 23,500 sq/ft
of commercial space.
o The District was approved by City Council on August 17, 2021. It is
anticipated the District will collect its first tax increment in 2024.
Finance Department
The use of TIF in these districts has created significant increases to their original
market value. The table shows that the total market value in these districts has
increased by over 1,400%.
District Original
Market Value
Pay 2021 Market
Value
Percent Increase
in Value
TIF 1-2 $451,800 $2,594,000 474.15%
TIF 1-4 $1,817,000 $17,334,000 1,216.57%
TIF 1-5 $2,497,000 $61,090,000 2,346.54%
TIF 2-11 $12,784,200 $168,313,000 1,216.57%
Total $17,550,000 $170,907,000 1,420.69%
The 4 active districts are projected to be decertified over the next eight years. When
decertified, the value will return to the tax rolls for general taxing purposes in the
following year. Amounts are based on 2021 valuations. The impact of TIF 1-2
Entertainment district could be significantly higher if the Theater site is redeveloped.
The estimated additional tax levy available in the table below represents the amount
taxes could be increased while maintaining a stable tax rate.
District Certification
Date
Projected
Decertification
Tax
Year
Estimated Additional
Tax Levy Available
TIF 1-2 7/25/1995 12/31/2023 2024 $28,934
TIF 1-4 6/5/2006 12/31/2027 2028 $483,941
TIF 1-5 7/7/2016 12/31/2026 2027 $125,720
TIF 2-11 4/5/1999 12/31/2029 2030 $1,384,843
The June 14th work session will also include an overview and summary of the City’s
Financial Management Plan (FMP). All estimates for timing of TIF decertifications and
their tax impacts are included in the FMP.
City of Hopkins Policy 7-C: Tax Increment and Tax Abatement is attached for your
information. The policy includes the criteria that would be used to evaluation proposals
for TIF or abatement assistance. Some of the criteria used are subjective in nature, the
final decisions on TIF are made by City Council.
FUTURE ACTION
No future action is required.
Legislative Policy Manual -- Chapter 7-C 1
POLICY 7-C
TAX INCREMENT AND TAX ABATEMENT POLICY
1. PURPOSE
1.01 The purpose of this policy is to establish the City's position as relates to the use of Tax
Increment Financing (TIF) or Tax Abatement (Abatement) for private development. This
policy shall be used as a guide in processing and reviewing applications requesting TIF or
Abatement assistance.
1.02 The City shall have the option of amending or waiving sections of this policy when
determined necessary or appropriate.
2. STATUTORY LIMITATIONS
2.01 Requests must comply with Minnesota Statutes 469.174-469.1791, the Minnesota Tax
Increment Financing Act. Tax Abatement requests must comply with Minnesota Statutes
469.1812-469.1815.
3. ELIGIBLE USES
3.01 As a matter of adopted policy, the City of Hopkins will consider using TIF or Abatement to
assist private developments only in those circumstances in which the proposed private
projects meet one or more of the following uses.
A. To redevelop blighted or underutilized areas of the community.
B. To meet the following housing-related uses.
1. To provide a diversity of housing adjacent to the Hopkins downtown area.
2. To provide a variety of housing ownership alternatives and housing choices.
3. To promote affordable housing for low o r moderate income individuals.
4. To promote neighborhood stabilization and revitalization by the removal of blight
and the upgrading in existing housing stock in residential areas.
C. To remove blight and encourage redevelopment in the commercial and industr ial areas
of the City in order to encourage high levels of property maintenance and private
reinvestment in those areas.
D. To increase the tax base of the City in order to ensure the long -term ability of the City
to provide adequate services for its residents while lessening the reliance on residential
property tax.
E. To retain local jobs, increase the local job base, and provide diversity in that job base.
F. To increase the local business and industrial market potential of the City of Hopkins.
G. To provide adequate short -term business and shopper parking and resident parking.
H. To encourage additional unsubsidized private development in the area, either directly
or through secondary "spin-off" development.
Legislative Policy Manual -- Chapter 7-C 2
I. To offset increased costs of redevelopment over and above those costs that a developer
would incur in normal urban and suburban development.
J. To accelerate the development process and achieve development on sites which would
not be developed without this assistance.
K. To meet other uses of public policy, as adopted by the Council from time to time,
including promotion of quality urban design, quality architectural design, energy
conservation, decreasing the capital and operating costs of local government, etc.
L. Finance or provide public infrastructure as part of a development/redevelopment
project.
M. In addition to the above Abatement, may also be used to help provide access to
services for residents.
4. PROJECT APPROVAL CRITERIA
4.01 All projects requesting TIF or Abatement assistance should meet the following minimum
approval criteria. However, it should not be presumed that a project meeting these criteria
will automatically be approved.
A. The TIF or Abatement assistance shall be provided within applicable state legislative
restrictions, debt limit guidelines, and other appropriate financial requirements and
policies.
B. The project should meet one or more of the above eligible uses.
C. The project must be in accord with the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinances, or
required changes to the Plan and Ordinances must be under active consideration by the
City at the time of approval.
D. TIF or Abatement assistance will not be provided to projects that have the financial
feasibility to proceed without public financial assistance. In effect, assistance will not
be provided solely to broaden a developer's profit margins on a project. Prior to
consideration of a TIF or Abatement assistance request, the City may undertake an
independent underwriting of the project to help ensure that the request for assistance is
valid.
E. Prior to approval of a TIF or Abatement application, the developer shall provide any
required market and financial feasibility studies, appraisals, soil boring, information
provided to private lenders for the project, and other information or data that the City
or its financial consultants may require in order to proceed with an independent
underwriting.
F. To ensure cash flows are adequate, projects receiving TIF or Abatement assistance
should normally have a 1.2:1 debt service coverage ratio (a ratio of funds projected to
be available to funds required for debt service).
G. The developer should provide adequate financial guarantees to ensure the repayment of
the TIF or Abatement subsidy. These may include, but are not limited t o: assessment
agreements, letters of credit, etc.
Legislative Policy Manual -- Chapter 7-C 3
H. Any developer requesting TIF or Abatement assistance should be able to demonstrate
past successful general development capability as well as specific capability in the type
and size of development proposed.
I. The developer should retain ownership of the project at least long enough to complete
it, to stabilize its occupancy, to establish the project management, and to initiate
repayment of TIF or Abatement.
J. The level of TIF funding should be reduced to the lowest possible level by maximizing
the use of private debt and equity financing first, and then using other funding sources
or income producing vehicles that can be structured into the project financing, prior to
using additional TIF or Abatement assistance funding.
5. EVALUATION CRITERIA
5.01 All projects will be evaluated on the following criteria for comparison with other proposed
projects reviewed by the City, and for comparison with other subsidy standards (where
appropriate). It is realized that changes in local markets and costs of construction and
interest rates may cause changes in the amount of public assistance that a given project may
require at any given time.
5.02 Some criteria, by their very nature, must remain subjective. However, wherever possible,
benchmark criteria have been established for review purposes. The fact that a given
proposal meets one or more benchmark criteria does not mean that it is entitled to funding
under this policy, but rather that the City is in a position to proceed with evaluations of (and
comparisons between) various TIF or Abatement proposals, using uniform standards
whenever possible.
5.03 Following are the evaluation criteria that will be used by the City of Hopkins for proposals
requesting TIF or Abatement assistance.
A. Proposals should optimize the private development potential of a site.
B. Proposals should obtain the highest possible private-to-public financial investment
ratio. The Council establishes a benchmark ratio of three parts private to one part
public funding for industrial projects. Housing and retail/commercial projects shall be
reviewed on an individual basis.
C. Proposals should create the highest feasible number of new jobs on the site. Property
shall meet the City of Hopkins Business Subsidy Criteria.
D. Proposals should create the highest possible ratio of property taxes paid before and
after redevelopment. Given the different assessment circumstances in the City, this
ratio will vary widely. However, under normal circumstances, the Council will expect
at least a 1:2 ratio of taxes paid before and after redevelopment.
E. Proposals should normally not be used to support speculative industrial, commercial,
and office projects. In general, speculative projects are defined as those projects which
have letters of intent or pre-leasing for less than 50 percent of the space available for
lease.
Legislative Policy Manual -- Chapter 7-C 4
F. Proposals will be reviewed to determine the feasibility to provide the City with equity
participation in new developments (through a share of the profits), or to treat the TIF
assistance as a second mortgage with fixed payments.
G. Proposals involving displacement of low and moderate income residents should give
specific attention to the re-housing needs of those residents. Adequate solutions to
these re-housing needs will be required as a matter of public policy.
H. Proposals will normally not be used in a project that involves an excessive land and/or
property price. This will normally be where the acquisition price is more than 10
percent in excess of market value.
I. TIF or Abatement will not be used when the developer's credentials, in the judgment of
the City, are inadequate due to past track record relating to: completion of projects,
general reputation and/or bankruptcy, or other problems or issues considered relevant
by the City.
J. A developer using TIF or Abatement will need to provide a financial guarantee for the
repayment of the assistance within the constraints of existing tax law.
K. TIF or Abatement will not be used to support projects that place demands on City
services, or other capital or operating expenditures, that exceed the average City
expenditures for similar facilities. Consideration will be given to the total public costs
that are required to support the project, including off-site facilities costs that are
required.
L. TIF or Abatement will not normally be used for projects that would generate significant
environmental problems in the opinion of the local, state, or federal governments.
M. TIF or Abatement will not be used when the schedule for development has exceeded
the schedule established in the redevelopment agreement, and where the City has not
agreed to extensions of that schedule.
N. TIF or Abatement funding should not be provided to those projects t hat fail to meet
good public policy criteria as determined by the Council, including: poor project
quality; projects that are not in accord with the Comprehensive Plan, zoning,
redevelopment plans, and City policies; projects that provide no significant
improvement to surrounding land uses, the neighborhood, and/or the City; projects that
do not provide a significant increase in tax base; projects that do not have significant
new, or retained, employment; projects that do not meet financial feasibility criteria
established by the City; and projects that do not provide the highest and best desired
use for the property.
5.04 Additional Criteria--TIF
A. All TIF projects will need to meet the "but for" test. TIF will not be used unless the
need for the City's economic participation is sufficient that without that assistance the
project could not proceed in the manner as proposed.
B. TIF will not be used in projects that would give a significant competitive financial
advantage over similar projects in the area due to the use of tax increment subsidies.
Legislative Policy Manual -- Chapter 7-C 5
5.05 Additional Criteria--Abatement
A. Abatement shall not be used on parcels of property located in TIF districts.
B. The Abatement of taxes shall be used only for new taxes generated from the project.
C. Requests for Abatement shall be used only for large-scale development or
redevelopment projects.
Established 8/16/88
Revised 6/20/2000
City of Hopkins
Tax Increment Financing
Council Work Session
June 14, 2022
Tax Increment Financing
4 Active Redevelopment Districts
TIF 1-2 Entertainment District
Redevelopment of Suburban Chevrolet into movie
theater, performing arts center, restaurant, office and
retail space
TIF 1-4 Marketplace and Main
Redevelopment of Collision Center into 53-unit market
rate apartments, 7 townhomes and retail space
Tax Increment Financing
4 Active Redevelopment Districts (continued)
TIF 1-5 The Moline
Redevelopment of Johnson Building into 241-unit market
rate apartments
TIF 2-11 Supervalu Excelsior Crossing
Redevelopment of former SuperValu complex into
800,000 sq/ft of corporate office space
Tax Increment Financing
1 Pending District
TIF 1-6 325 Blake
Redevelopment of 325 Blake into approximately 600
apartments, 125 senior cooperative units and 23,500
sq/ft of commercial space
Approved in 2021
First year of tax increment is anticipated in 2024
Tax Increment Financing
TIF as a Development Tool
District
Original
Market
Value
Pay 2021
Market Value
Percent
Increase in
Value
TIF 1-2 Entertainment District $451,800 $2,594,000 474.15%
TIF 1-4 Marketplace and Main $1,817,000 $17,334,000 1,216.57%
TIF 1-5 The Moline $2,497,000 $61,090,000 2,346.54%
TIF 2-11 SuperValu Excelsior Crossing $12,784,200 $168,313,000 1,216.57%
Total $17,550,000 $170,907,000 1,420.69%
1-2 Entertainment District
Project goals: Create community amenity, catalyst for
arts/entertainment district, clean environmental contamination
1-4 Marketplace & Main
Project goals: Create housing opportunity in downtown,
remove obsolete building & increase the tax base
1-5 Moline
Project goals: Remove obsolete building, create gateway to
downtown, provide new housing opportunity & grow tax
base
2-11 SuperValu/Excelsior Crossings
Project goals: Remove obsolete building, clean environmental
contamination, create jobs and increase tax base
1-6 325 Blake
Project goals: Affordable housing, transit-supportive
development and increased tax base
Tax Increment Financing
Estimated levy increase to maintain tax rate
*Incorporated in Financial Management Plan
District 2024 2027 2028 2030
TIF 1-2 Entertainment District $28,934
TIF 1-4 Marketplace and Main $125,720
TIF 1-5 The Moline $483,941
TIF 2-11 SuperValu Excelsior Crossing $1,384,843
Tax Increment Financing
City of Hopkins Policy 7-C: Tax Increment and
Tax Abatement
Includes criteria used to evaluate proposals for TIF
or Abatement assistance
Final Decisions made by City Council