Repeal Of Columbia's $90M Downtown Financing Plan Proposed

COLUMBIA, MD - Differing ideas about what to do in Columbia's future regarding parking has put the brakes on part of the downtown Columbia plan.

A nine-story parking garage was planned for the yet-to-be-developed Crescent property near Merriweather Post Pavilion, off Little Patuxent Parkway. The garage will accommodate employees at the retail, housing and commercial office spaces and at times may be used for Merriweather patrons, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Howard County approved tax-incremental financing, also known as a TIF, that would permit the county finance the garage as it was being built with the agreement that developer Howard Hughes Corporation would pay the money back over time.

Now, council members Jen Terrasa and Calvin Ball are filing an act repealing the $90 million from Council Bill 56-2016, which allowed the county to issue up to $90 million in special obligation bonds for the collection of a special tax.

Terrasa and Ball stated in their proposal that the county executive's decision not to use the TIF to build a public parking garage as had been proposed "raises numerous questions about the financial data presented to the council during its consideration of [the bill] and significantly alters the potential public benefit to be realized through the proposed investment of public funds."

The council members said they learned County Executive Allan Kittleman authorized the parking garage for private use due to unresolved issues with the developer about who would operate and maintain the garage.

Four other developers filed a lawsuit against the county for what they claimed was an unfair advantage; representatives for COPT, Greenebaum Enterprises, Merritt Properties and St. John Properties told the Baltimore Business Journal that the TIF would create profits for Howard Hughes while taxpayers would be footing the bill.

The proposed repeal is on the agenda for the Sept. 5 legislative session of the Howard County Council in Ellicott City.

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