The 1.1 million-square-foot mixed-use Transit Village secured a key step for its financing after the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency approved a $114 million deal supporting the project on Jan. 9.
The developer received permission to collect up to $114 million, plus interest, of the tax increment financing it generates for the next 29 years, which CRA staff estimated would be 100 percent of the TIF. However, Transit Village LLC estimated the CRA would receive $33 million in taxes over that time. The city commission, sitting as the CRA board, approved the agreement 3-2, although the city staff had recommended approving a lower amount of TIF funds.
Transit Village would include a public transit gateway connecting the Tri-Rail, Amtrak, buses, the trolley and ground transportation.
Mike Masanoff, who has been working to build Transit Village for more than a decade, said the TIF deal will allow the project to finalize its financing. The proceeds of the TIF would be used to repay the construction loan, and the developer would take out an assurity policy to pay the loan in case the project does not get built.
Transit Village will begin the process of seeking building permits. Masanoff said it should break ground in the third quarter and take about 40 months to complete. He is still negotiating with general contractors. It would cost $300 to $350 million to build, he added, so the developer must put up a significant amount of equity in addition to the TIF funds.
“It is a very sophisticated financing model protective of city and CRA and it will create a transformative regional center of importance,” Masanoff said.
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