The boundaries of the proposed TIF district. See a biggie.

The City of Eau Claire wants to create a special taxing district to raise funds for development and redevelopment along Water Street and the bank of the Chippewa River. The City Plan Commission has already given unanimous approval to what will be known as Tax Incremental Financing District No. 12, a roughly nine-square-block area bordered on the west by Ninth Avenue and the east by Second Avenue. Next up, the plan must earn the approval of the Eau Claire City Council and of the Joint Review Board, a body composed of local taxing entities, including the county and school district. Jay Winzenz, the city’s director of finance, hopes the process will be completed by the end of September.

According to a proposal from the city’s Finance Department, the TIF would:

• “Promote Water Street as a mixed-use district” by generating funds to buy properties along the Chippewa River to create a linear park and bike trail.

• Promote private redevelopment along the street to better use the riverfront.

• “Create a safe, appealing, and vibrant atmosphere which encourages development and redevelopment of mixed-use, commercial, and residential properties with and adjacent to the proposed (district).”

• “Invest in public infrastructure, such as the construction of a parking lot in the 400 block of Chippewa Street to enhance other mixed-used development projects.”

In a TIF district, property taxes generated by new development are used to pay for public infrastructure improvements (the kind of improvements that encourage new development in the first place). In this case, the total cost of the projects – including interest – will be an estimated $12.5 million. If all goes as planned, this sum should be paid off within 14 years. After that, all taxing entities will benefit from the increased tax base.

Winzenz explained that the reconstruction of the pedestrian and bicycle trail in the area will including upgrading the trail itself – some of which is beginning to slide into the river – to the same standards as downtown trails; repairing retaining walls; creating overlooks at the ends of Third, Fourth, and Fifth avenues; and improving lighting and landscaping. Eventually, the plan includes potentially acquiring privately owned property along the 600 block of Menomonie Street, which would allow the trail to remain along the riverbank at that point. (Currently, the trail jogs away from the river and merges with the street itself on that block).

The upgraded trail will provide a connection between the UW-Eau Claire campus and the future site of the Sonnentag Event and Recreation Complex on Menomonie Street. Funds generated by the TIF could also be used to demolish and rehabilitate aging properties within a half mile of the district with $2 million earmarked for such revitalization.