Program looks to boost investment

THE PROVIDENCE Neighborhood Revitalization Act would provide tax relief to developers, entrepreneurs or investors who build new construction or who rehabilitate vacant properties in specific neighborhoods.
THE PROVIDENCE Neighborhood Revitalization Act would provide tax relief to developers, entrepreneurs or investors who build new construction or who rehabilitate vacant properties in specific neighborhoods.

PROVIDENCE – City leaders have proposed a new tax incentive program to spur investment in some of Providence’s poorest neighborhoods.
The Providence Neighborhood Revitalization Act would provide tax relief to developers, entrepreneurs or investors who build new construction or who rehabilitate vacant properties in specific neighborhoods.
The neighborhoods are defined as those where Census tract data indicates a high rate of low- to moderate-income residents. A map is expected to be made available soon, but in an interview, Council President Luis A. Aponte said he expected the program would apply to all neighborhoods except the Eastside, Downtown and Jewelry District.
The act would create a six-year phase-in for property taxes on improvements made to a property, with 20 percent increases added yearly, after an initial base year, until the full taxable amount is reached. The property would have to involve new construction of $250,000 or a rehabilitation of commercial or multi-family residential property of at least $250,000.
The project size, however, is capped at $3 million.
The idea is to spur investment and revitalization in some of the Providence neighborhoods that need it most, said Aponte. He has made a point at several public meetings that economic activity is needed beyond the downtown and Interstate 195 redevelopment area.
“Our neighborhoods throughout the city, many of them are suffering from a lack of investment,” he said in June, as city leaders announced a planned tax stabilization policy for the I-195 district.

No posts to display