Local & State Headlines

Authority to oversee TAD

• The Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority signs on as agent for Albany's downtown tax allocation district.

Susan McCord

ALBANY — The Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority agreed Wednesday to serve as agent for the city of Albany in the city’s first tax allocation district, or TAD, though TAD redevelopment powers can’t officially be used until January 2009.

When Albany voters authorized the Redevelopment Powers Law Nov. 6, they empowered the City of Albany to designate a “redevelopment agent,” assistant city manager James Taylor told the authority’s board members, passing copies of the legislation around the table.

The new TAD’s boundaries, and ADICA’s new boundaries, will reach from Mercer Avenue Alley east across the Flint River to Radium Springs Drive, north through North Broadway, then east to Residence Avenue Alley, Taylor said.

The TAD will encompass about 1 square mile of land, including Albany State University, he said, though the university can’t benefit from the tax-funded redevelopment powers.

The redevelopment agent, however, will gain powers — to condemn property for public use, and bond-fund development projects using property taxes above a certain threshold, he said.

“You become the conductor of the train, if you will,” Taylor said.

The boundaries will coincide with those of Albany Tomorrow, whose redevelopment master plan is a likely match for the TAD redevelopment plan required by law, he said.

“You’ll have an expanded role,” said Downtown Manager and ADICA Executive Director Don Buie, in “reviewing the work plan in the targeted areas that are being talked about.”

“As we grow, the board will be a working board,” he said.

Though it took an early lead in downtown development, ADICA later transferred most of its responsibilities to Albany Tomorrow, ADICA chair Jane Willson said.

After an update on the status of Special-Purpose Local- Option Sales Tax V-funded projects from ATI CEO and President Kenneth Weaver, the authority closed the meeting to the public for the stated purpose of discussing “property acquisition.” They hadn’t reopened a half-hour later.

Earlier in the day, Buie had outlined his three-part program of work in downtown Albany to ATI’s voting members. The first part, an assessment of downtown properties, had already been completed, he said.

The second part, blight elimination, means working closely with Code Enforcement officials to encourage owners to bring their properties up to code, taking legal action if necessary.

The third is development, with an early target of two blocks: the 200 block of West Broad Avenue, between Washington and Jackson streets, and the 100 block of Jackson Street, between Pine and Broad.

“If we paint our picture too broad, people will not be able to see the changes,” Buie said. “If we concentrate our efforts on a block-by-block approach, these are short-term, immediate-gratification efforts that people can appreciate.”

More Headlines>>