The Meridian City Council is scheduled to consider a resolution Tuesday to issue up to $1.9 million in tax increment financing bonds to support further development of the Meridian Crossroads Shopping Center.
Phase 2 of the Crossroads project has been in the works for several years, and Councilman George Thomas said Monday that the city council has been told the developer is ready to move forward. Thomas said it will be up to the developer to announce details of the project, but he understands the development will bring additional retail space and business to the area.
TIF bonds are economic development tools that municipalities can use to support or encourage private development. The bonds are used to build ancillary public infrastructure in the development, such as roads, sidewalks, and sewer lines, and are typically turned over to the city once construction is complete. The bonds would then be repaid using a portion of the new tax revenue generated by the development.
In 2015, the City Council approved a TIF plan for the project, with up to $2.8 million in bonds to be repaid with sales taxes over 15 years. An earlier version of the project called for a $22 million investment on a 12.95-acre site that included Hobby Lobby, Dick's Sporting Goods and Kirkland's.
The project was originally developed by Atlanta, Georgia-based RCG Ventures, but was later switched to North Carolina-based Collett Development. At the ribbon-cutting for Hobby Lobby, which opened in 2019, Colette's Wesley Walls told the Meridian Star that the company will add another anchor store and three to five tenants, adding another $80,000 to the area. He said he hopes to bring 85,000 square feet of retail space.
The bond process and measures to hire experts to assist with bond resolution are on the consent agenda for the City Council's Tuesday meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m. in the third-floor auditorium at City Hall. Items on the consent agenda are approved all at once and are non-debatable, but members of Congress can vote to remove items from the consent agenda if they feel further discussion is needed.
Also on Tuesday, the City Council is scheduled to:
– Confirm Debra Young to the Meridian Public School District Board of Directors
– Sign a maintenance contract with Terry Services for HVAC at City Hall.
– Approve a 6-month source bid for asphalt and concrete
– Authorizes the Mississippi State Convention to use the City Hall lawn and auditorium for its annual opening ceremony.
– Recognize Magnolia Middle School Science Project Winners
