The agency today approved the plan which is designed to stimulate economic growth in an area around Belknap Campus.
The TIF district covers more than 900 acres stretching from Belknap Campus south to the Watterson Expressway. UofL can activate the TIF after it invests more than $200 million in capital improvements within the district. Once activated, UofL will receive a portion of the state and local tax revenues generated in the district for a 30-year period. The more economic activity in the area, the more UofL, the state and Louisville Metro governments will receive from tax revenues.
“This is a key component of our plans to build a new research park on the Belknap Campus,” said President James Ramsey. “This will provide incentive for UofL, the state, city and area businesses to increase development and bring more jobs to the area around UofL.”
The planned 39-acre Belknap Engineering and Applied Sciences Research Park sits in the middle of the TIF district and will be a focus for the portion of tax dollars that UofL eventually receives. UofL officials estimate that the TIF could have a total economic impact of more than $1 billion.
This is the second TIF proposal KEDFA has approved for UofL. It approved the first — a 210-acre region in downtown Louisville — in 2007. UofL activated the downtown TIF this year and is expecting $1.3 million in revenues in 2012 and increasing amounts over the next 29 years as workers’ salaries and economic activity grow.
