Kentucky bill would pave way for more tax incentives for downtown Louisville developments

AbillmovingthroughtheKentuckyGeneralAssemblywouldallowLouisvilletoprovidetaxbreakstodeveloperslookingtolocateprojectsdowntown.Supporterssaythiswouldopenupnewavenuestoimproveunderutilizedpartsofthecitycenter. Rightnow,thecitycan’tusethepopulardevelopmentincentivesknownastaxincrementfinancing,orTIF,almostanywhereintheCentralBusinessDistrict.That’sbecauseaTIFdistrictthatstartedin2009tofundtheconstructionoftheKFCYum!Centeralreadycoverslargeswathsofdowntown. TheexistingTIFrunsfromtheOhioRiversouthtoEastKentuckyStreet.ItsbordersincludeSouthClayStreetintheeastand9thStreettothewest. HouseBill775wouldallowthecityofficialsanddeveloperstocarveoutnewTIFdistrictswithinthelargerYum!Centerdistrict,oftencalledthearenadistrict. MayorCraigGreenbergtoldLPMNewsthechangecouldhelpthecitymeetsomeofitspriorities,likeredevelopingsomeofthemanycity-ownedparkinglotsdowntown. “It’schallengingtospurlargeeconomicdevelopmentpr