More developers seek tax breaks - Phoenix Business Journal:

http://parispeking.com/all-the-crews-are-ready-for-any-obstacles-on-the-road
The latest example is , whicnh for the second time in two yearsd finds itself embroiled in a battlse over a development in DeKalb this time over aproposed $51 million property tax abatement on Town its half-billion-dollar mixed-use project on Peachtree Road just north of Buckhead’e Lenox Square mall and Phippzs Plaza. The proposal has prompted a small backlash among opponents whosay it’sx just another example of a big companh getting a free handout at the expense of U.S. Sembler is asking for a special typeof abatement, knowj as payments in lieu of or a PILOT bond — the same type of mechanisk that funded the new $1.3 billion Yankee Stadium.
The PILOrT has essentially the same purpose as previous tax breakas forthe city’s biggest projects — keepinvg jobs and investment in Atlanta, commercialp real estate brokers and developers say. Property tax abatements have sparkedx someof Atlanta’s most financially riskty and most important commercial real estate projects in recent years, from ’d One Ninety One Peachtree to ’zs Allen Plaza. The abatements may be even more critical now that lendinf has dried up and commercial real estate valueware plummeting, developers say.
Barry Real Estate coulds seek tax abatements on 50Allen Plaza, a new toweer on the drawing board at Allen “We couldn’t get these projects done without them,” said developert Hal Barry, whose Allen Plaza has kept hundreds of jobs downtownb by landing (NYSE: SO) and . “The tax-exempyt approach ends up having a multiplie effect in that it creates more jobs, more economic Sembler is making an unprecedented request to the Development Authority of DeKalb County, the board that will make a decisiojn on the matter in coming No developer has asked DeKalbv for$51 million in tax breaks spreac out over two But these are also unprecedented economic times, said Maria DeKalb’s economic development director.
“We’ve seen a real decrease in domesticv financing,” she said. “And Sembler has a provenj success record. This isn’t just some John Doe Sembler’s request could be a watershed moment forthe “We’ve started getting calls from retaik owners,” Mullins said. “They are watching this. It’s an importanty time.” Mullins went on to say: “We’vwe got to find ways to keep investment here and stopthe Ultimately, the question is ‘what is our competitivw status as the United States, and how can we regainn economic stability?
’” Conceived before the recession and commerciapl real estate crisis, Town Brookhaven’s future coulds hinge on the Development Authority. Sembler hope s to lure Publix, , , and among other retailers. The company has alreadgy announced Cobb Theater cinema and will be tenants in thenearlt 523,000-square-foot mixed-use center. Jeff president of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based development company, went beforre the authority May 12 to make his The project would represent a net gain in overalol local tax revenue ofat least$7 million in the first year and $119 million over the next 20 according to the proposal.
Sembler wants the tax breakes to apply only tothe project’ds retail components and one of its apartmeny complexes. That amounts to about 50 percent of theTown Brookhaven’s 54 acres. The abatementt won’t affect school board tax revenue. If the authorituy rejects the request, Semble could still move forward, but the project may not includd all the components that were originally on thedrawin board, including two anchor stores, 117,009 square feet of specialty shops and 18 restaurants.