BURRILLVILLE – An effort to encourage investment in blighted areas of town that began in October took another leap forward this week, with the addition of 27 more properties in Harrisville and Pascoag.
The lots were added to a tax stabilization ordinance, and will now qualify for exemptions for both rehabilitation of existing structures, and new construction.
The program, created late last year, dictates that investments costing at least $2,500 for commercial, industrial and mixed use buildings, and apartment houses with six or more legal units in target areas, are eligible for tax credits. Projects costing $100,000 or more may qualify with council approval.
The new properties were added following a memo this month from Town Planner Ray Goff to Town Manager Michael Wood.
“It came to my attention this week that some properties were not included when discussing the potential rehabilitation of one of the properties in the Stillwater Redevelopment District,” Goff noted in a January 21 communication. “I reviewed the district maps for Pascoag as well as Stillwater and identified 27 properties that were missed.”
The new list includes properties along Spring Street and High Street, as well as 20 properties surrounding the Stillwater Mill Complex.
According to the ordinance, improvements to existing structures will be subject to a three year tax stabilization plan, with around roughly a sixth of the initial investment to come back in the form of credits, according to a schedule.
New construction will be subject to a seven-year plan, with buildings taxed at just 20 percent of their value in the third year. The ordinance requires investors to apply for the tax break.
Full details are laid out in section 25-48 of the town’s general ordinances.
Councilors voted unanimously on Wednesday, Jan. 27 to add the new properties to the list.
