[Hearing and vote on PILOT has been re-scheduled for the Tuesday, April 4th Township Committee Meeting]
Maplewood Township has proposed a 30 year tax abatement (“PILOT”) for the property located at 7 West Parker Avenue. The basis for the PILOT provided by the Township includes (1) the “extraordinary” cost of environmental clean-up, (2) the funds provided by developer ($150,000) to help improvement walking path between Parker and Jefferson Avenues, and (3) general improvement to the area and the inclusion of seven affordable housing units.
It is difficult, in total, for taxpayers to assess the merits of the PILOT proposal and it’s described benefits. The cost of the clean-up is unknown, and the total tax benefit that will accrue to the developer has not been published.
The taxpayers best interests are served if the PILOT assures the financial success of the project without resulting in an additional wind-fall to the developer or subsequent owners over the 30 years. Put in other words, the total tax benefit accrued to the developer should be designed to assure a market-rate return on the investment, and no more.
As a step to understanding the workings of the PILOT, the document below (download version with live links here) estimates the total tax benefit that would accrue under the current agreement terms. The analysis makes some assumptions to fill in data not yet provided by the Township, but could be repeated if the data was made available. The estimate obtained suggests a tax reduction totaling approximately $5 million over the 30 year term.
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This site was created to chronicle the five year public process leading to the construction of Clarus Maplewood, and beyond! We recently re-arranged it to provide easier access chronologically or by topic area. Check out the changes by using the search box, or using the project overview. Check out the What’s Next? page for a listing of recent planning efforts and developments
Oh No 60 