City panel agrees to recommend mall TAD
The mall ownership still has to seek a formal agreement on the tax increment financing plan.
The Rome Redevelopment Committee has agreed to recommend the creation of a Mount Berry Mall Tax Allocation District to the full city commission. John Mulherin, vice president of government relations with the Hull Property Group, owners of the mall, reminded committee members that Hull will still have to come back before the Rome Redevelopment Agency to create a tax increment package that will allow them to recoup some of the money they plan to invest in the mall.
Mulherin said Hull expects to spend more than $800,000 to demolish some 135,000 square feet at the north end of the mall where Sears was once located. Knocking out that empty space would effectively reduce the vacancy rate in the mall from nearly 38 percent to approximately 15 percent and make the mall much more attractive to future tenants.
Mulherin also said Hull plans to invest as much as $10 million at the mall, including construction of four new restaurants on outparcels at the north end of the mall. “Food is good. There is not enough food out there,” Mulherin said. “If there is a tennis tournament the food court is full.” He said the new restaurants would be full service casual type restaurants, not typical fast-food establishments.
The Hull plan includes money for an overall upgrade of the interior of the mall itself.
The proposed TAD would include nine parcels immediately surrounding the mall and adjacent to the tennis center property.
City Manager Sammy Rich told the committee the city would not be losing any money if it reaches a TAD agreement with Hull.
The city and county would continue to receive all current tax level funding. “We would be foregoing net new revenue for a period of time,” Rich said.
“All the pressure is on us as the developer to create the tax increment,” Mulherin said. The mall owners would get back a portion of the increase in property taxes over a specific number off year as the mall is redeveloped. The details of that plan have not been presented to city officials yet.