MORGANTOWN — The expansion of the county’s Harmony Grove TIF district cleared an initial hurdle on Wednesday.
The Monongalia County Commission held a public hearing and approved the submission of an application to the West Virginia Department of Economic Development that, if ultimately approved, will amend the boundaries of the Harmony Grove TIF to bring approximately 85 additional acres into the district.
The majority of the land sits between I-79 and the Monongalia County Board of Education property on which the Skyview Elementary and Westwood Middle schools are located. A narrow portion of the parcel wraps around the school property and fronts River Road.
“We’re in the process of trying to utilize the property for future development; mostly residential would be the idea,” Patrick Adrian said.
The Harmony Grove TIF district – or Monongalia County Development District No. 5 – is the county’s fifth and newest TIF. It’s separate from the original Morgantown Industrial Park TIF district, which was created in 2008.
The newer district allowed for the issuance of approximately $21.5 million worth of bonds in 2021 for the infrastructure and site development for Mountaintop Beverage and other sites in the upper expansion of the Morgantown Industrial Park.
This expansion would bring in a single, largely undeveloped parcel of 85.11 acres owned by Adrian Holdings LLC.
It was explained that private funds, not TIF funds, would be used for future development of the site.
“The plan is not being amended in any way to actually use TIF funds to help further that particular development, but the idea is to bring that parcel into the boundaries of the district so that if and when that residential development does occur, the TIF can capture those incremental revenues and can be used to help repay the bonds that are outstanding,” Tom Aman explained.
Aman, of Steptoe & Johnson, is the county’s bond counsel.
According to Aman, the state has up to 60 days to approve the application or request additional information. If approved, it will come back to the commission for a final order.
In other county news, the commission approved a request from the county’s Abandoned & Dilapidated Property Enforcement Agency to move two properties – 3398 Earl L. Core Road and a Grafton Road property across from the entrance to Dorsey’s Knob Park – to the complaint stage.
