AURORA — A company planning a massive development in northeast Aurora is asking the city and school district for as much as $90 million in tax-increment financing incentives to cover the cost of building libraries, recreation centers and cultural facilities.
“The northeast region of Aurora is missing quite a few amenities our project might be able to fill,” said Krista Sprenger, project director for Lend Lease, the Australian company behind the Horizon Uptown project. “All of those things are necessary to create the infrastructure for job growth and development.”
Aurora planners are still reviewing Lend Lease’s plans for Horizon Uptown, a 500-acre mixed-use development on the southwest corner of Interstate 70 and E-470. The development would include 3,800 homes and 1.3 million square feet of retail and create up to 11,000 new jobs.
Lend Lease also is asking that the property — which is vacant and largely flat — be declared “blighted” under urban-renewal criteria and that the city create a taxing district for the proposed neighborhood.
Cities typically give incentives to developers when the land they are going to build on needs improvements.
But Lend Lease is asking for the unusually high amount because the area lacks “regional amenities,” Sprenger said.
Under the proposed tax scenario, the company would build libraries, rec centers and other amenities and then be reimbursed by the city and school district over 25 years from property taxes collected within Horizon Uptown.
Developers at Stapleton have a similar arrangement in which improvements such as parks and schools are financed using a percentage of property taxes collected. But as the economy has stalled, so have building and property-tax collection in the redeveloped airport neighborhood.
Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer said he will be hard-pressed to justify Lend Lease’s request, particularly at a time when the city is laying off workers and shuttering libraries. He also said it should be up to the city — and not the developer — to decide what amenities to build and where to build them.
“We need to keep this number in perspective,” Tauer said. “(The $90 million sum is) about one-fourth the cost of Coors Field. This is one of the five best properties (for location) in Colorado. If you can’t build on your own here, where can you?”
Aurora would give up as much as $25 million in property-tax collections. The project would cost Aurora Public Schools about $60 million in property taxes, although the district would be reimbursed, or “backfilled,” through the state equalization fund.
State Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, called the financing plan “irresponsible.” She said Colorado is in dire financial shape as well, facing up to $3 billion in cuts to core services over the next three years.
“It’s a very questionable financing method, a backdoor backfill of $60 million the state does not have,” Carroll said. “There isn’t the commercial or residential demand for the project. And what if this becomes a precedent?”
Aside from getting the money back, Lend Lease has agreed to build a $20 million school for Aurora Public Schools in the Horizon Uptown neighborhood, then give it to the school district.
APS Superintendent John Barry called the project a win- win for the district, although he understands the concerns from other government entities.
“We are held harmless,” Barry said of the financial impact to the district. “It’s a really good deal for our residents, and we get a new school.”
Aurora City Councilman Brad Pierce acknowledged that “it’s a lot money” the city would give up but said it would be worthwhile in the long run.
“The revenue the city will receive will far extend the amount of our contribution to the incentives,” said Pierce, who did not know how much revenue is projected from the development. “That point gets lost a lot of times because all the people see is the amount of the incentives. They don’t see how much money the city will receive.”
If approved by the City Council, Lend Lease hopes to break ground on Horizon Uptown, which would also include 60 acres of parks and 4 million square feet of office space, as early as next year. Build-out would be in 10 to 15 years, assuming the economy turns around.
“To have that mix of uses makes it a dynamic place,” said Lend Lease spokeswoman Brenda Christman.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
