Tax Increment Financing in Connecticut
Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 105b (TIF Legislation) - https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_105b.htm
Examples of Pullman's Similar Work Products and Areas
Downtown Bristol Tax Increment Financing District (Bristol, CT)
Pullman & Comley partnered with Camoin Associates to assist the Bristol Development Authority (BDA) with the establishment of a Downtown Bristol Tax Increment Financing District in Bristol, Connecticut in 2018. Victoria Storrs, then working at Camoin Associates, and Mike Andreana worked closely together throughout the project. Bristol was an early adopter of TIF after the 2016 revisions to Chapter 105b of the Connecticut General Statutes. The TIF District includes approximately 350 acres in downtown Bristol and shares same geographic boundaries with the City’s federally designated Opportunity Zone. The City will use incremental real property taxes generated within the TIF District to fund public infrastructure improvements, economic development incentives, and certain private development projects within the TIF District, and is already seeing substantial new investment and greater than anticipated revenues. In connection with the creation of the TIF District, the consulting team drafted the City’s TIF District Master Plan, the City’s policy for Credit Enhancement Agreements within the TIF District, and the City Council approving Ordinance. The team worked with the BDA in shepherding the Master Plan, the Policy and approving Ordinance through the various local boards, committees, public hearings and final City Council approval in September 2018.
Town of Cheshire Interchange Zone TIF District, and Credit Enhancement Agreement Adoption
Cheshire’s Interchange Zone TIF was created to enable private developers to fund necessary sewer service in an area of the town that was zoned for industry and commerce. It lacked infrastructure and was far enough from the center of the community that the cost of extending sewer without a known development was not well supported by residents. Shortly after the TIF District was formed, a major mixed-use development project was proposed, including private funding for sewer. Mike was engaged by the developer to negotiate a Credit Enhancement Agreement. By early 2021, sewer construction was well underway.
Steel Point Infrastructure Improvement District (Bridgeport, CT)
In 2021, Pullman served as bond counsel in the issuance of approximately $48 million of tax increment bonds by the Steel Point Infrastructure Improvement District (the “District”), comprising 44 waterfront acres in Bridgeport. Proceeds from the bond sales were used for public improvements necessary to foster private development within the District. Pullman attorneys drafted enabling legislation creating the District and have served as its financing and bond counsel since its inception. To date, the developer has built an upscale marina, marina building and restaurant, a Bass Pro Shops and adjacent retail. Future phases envision 1,500+ units of housing, a hotel and additional retail space.
Bloomfield Town Center TIF District, TOBEY Road TIF District and Blue Hills TIF District (Bloomfield, CT)
Pullman advised and assisted the Bloomfield Town Council with the establishment and creation of three separate TIF Districts under one TIF Master Plan in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The Town located the three TIF Districts in areas that were either underdeveloped or in need of redevelopment. In connection with the creation of the TIF Districts, Pullman attorneys helped draft the Town’s TIF Districts Master Plan, the Town’s policy for Credit Enhancement Agreements within the TIF Districts, and the Town Council approving Ordinance. Pullman worked with the Town Attorney and the Economic Development Office in shepherding the Master Plan, the Policy and approving Ordinance through the various local boards, committees, public hearings and final Town Council approval in February 2021.
Harbor Point Infrastructure Improvement (Stamford, Connecticut)
Pullman served as bond and transaction counsel for the Harbor Point Infrastructure Improvement District and effectuated the issuance of $145 million of unrated tax increment bonds for public infrastructure improvements. The issue was the country’s largest unrated development district bond deal to finance a project in the early stages of its development since the Lehman bankruptcy in 2008, and the first of its kind in Connecticut. Harbor Point is a $1 billion mixed-use development on a former industrial site between the central business district and Stamford Harbor, adjacent to both a rail transportation center and I-95. To facilitate this bond financing, our attorneys represented the Harbor Point Infrastructure Improvement District in the acquisition of four parcels of land to be used as public parks.
Great Pond Improvement District (the “District”), Windsor, CT
Pullman represents a joint venture between Winstanley Enterprises LLC and ABB/Combustion Engineering to develop a brownfields site on 670 acres in the Town of Windsor into a new urbanist development, known as Great Pond Village and located in the District, which will include 4,000 residential units, retail and office development, warehouses, hotels and possibly one or more schools. More than half of the site is left in its natural, wooded state for passive recreation. We have assisted with planning the site and its regulatory requirements, handled the land use and wetland permitting for the remediation of the site and its development, and established the site as a special taxing district, including writing and ushering through the legislation to achieve that. The Firm has worked cooperatively with the Town of Windsor to achieve this major new sustainable village within the town. In addition, Pullman & Comley is bond counsel to the District and assisted it in preparing a plan to place special assessments on the property to secure bonds and notes issued by the District for infrastructure improvements. We negotiated an interlocal agreement with the Town, in which the Town agreed to pay the District 50% of a portion of the tax increment received by the Town from the development of Great Pond Village as additional security for the District’s infrastructure bonds and notes. Since its formation, the District has issued numerous series of notes and two series of bonds, one in 2019 and a second in 2022.
The Haven (City of West Haven, Connecticut)
Pullman represents the City of West Haven in the redevelopment of abandoned and under-utilized waterfront property through an inter-departmental team comprised of real estate, land use, environmental, property valuation and public finance attorneys to assist the City in creating a comprehensive municipal development district and obtaining all necessary state and local approvals in connection therewith. Pullman represented the City in negotiating and drafting a complicated Development Agreement with a development entity comprised of two international developers. As part of the transaction, Pullman has assisted the City and the developer in obtaining a brownfield grant and tax incremental financing from the State of Connecticut. The Firm has successfully assisted the City’s development agency with the acquisition by eminent domain of a number of properties in the development area. This is the first significant post-Kelo exercise of eminent domain in Connecticut pursuant to a municipal development plan; the Firm’s litigation lawyers supported the acquisitions by successfully representing the City in actions in which property owners were represented by lawyers from a national property-rights advocacy organization.
In addition to Pullman’s development work for public clients, Attorney Andreana has represented many developer clients in connection with the negotiation and drafting of TIF district credit enhancement agreements for TIF-backed development projects in Windsor Locks, Enfield, Groton and New London.