Agenda Summary
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Requesting authorization to enter into a Tax Increment Financing Agreement with a full building occupant of a laboratory building.
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Official Text
To the Honorable City Council:
The Mayor respectfully requests that this Council authorize the Mayor to finalize negotiations with a company seeking to occupy an entire Assembly Square lab building for a Tax Increment Financing Agreement, enter into such Agreement, and take such further actions as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purpose of the Agreement.
In accordance with M.G.L., a Tax Increment Financing Agreement (TIF), authorized by the Mayor and City Council, allows a city to reduce the local taxes paid by a company that is adding new jobs in the community. The company must continue to pay taxes on the "base value of the property" and the exemption is only on the incremental value of the investments that the company is making to the property.
The company with which the administration is in discussion is in active negotiations with two Assembly Square property owners to relocate to and grow in Somerville. Since a TIF Agreement is an agreement between three parties: the City, the property owner, and the tenant company, not all of final details are completed at this time. An approval from the City Council to finalize the negotiations for a TIF Agreement is an important step in allowing the company to conclude their negotiations with their landlord.
Appropriate staff will be available to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your consideration of this item.
Respectfully submitted,
Katjana Ballantyne, Mayor