New commercial corridor near NFM expected to bring $43 million in investment

“The project includes significant public improvements over the site in its current state,” says a cost-benefit analysis attached to the TIF application.

A separate TIF request for the apartments that are expected to cost about $30 million is to be presented at a later date, said Blumkin. He said that phase is “several years away.”

The first two phases would redevelop about 11 acres of that 26-acre swath. The remainder would stay as is, he said.

City documents indicate that 121 Acquisition Company will ask the city to designate the project site an enhanced employment area, allowing it to charge a new tax upon businesses or users of that area to cover eligible development costs. Blumkin said that would be a 1% tax on sales during a span of up to 20 years.

A critical element of the plan, say city documents, is relocation of NFM’s existing truck and trailer storage onto a comparable outdoor storage lot that’s set back from the public roadways. Infrastructure and lighting would be improved, and the area landscaped. A new public roadway would enhance access to the area.

Developers are hoping that the home improvement store and two smaller retail businesses would be open in spring of 2022.