TIF impact on property value/etc

[Stephanie Z.]

QUESTION(S): 

Our local city (and maybe the county as well in a collaborative effort) is proposing a TIF district that would include our 4 1/2 acre commercial property that is mostly undeveloped at this time (but we do use and need about 1/2 acre). I'm curious as to whether this is good for us or not, and what we can/should do to explore this idea. 

Is this good? Is this bad? What should I do to figure out how to benefit from this? Risks to be aware of? Things to watch for? Things to do? Questions to ask?

The targeted area includes mostly undeveloped or under-developed land around our local small airport as well as some more retail/commercial/office areas in a nearby more densely developed commercial district that is a mix of run-down industrial-ish buildings (building materials, feed store, Goodwill), banks/groceries/fast food, services (dental, tax, etc), small older strip malls, a few empty/torn down lots, and some new and nicer retail and low rise office buildings, including a brand new grocery being built on a recently relocated Ford dealership site, etc. The airport is slated to finally get a runway extension (just got FAA approval, has been in the works for a decade or longer), and I believe some of the TIF money would be used towards funding the 10% local share for that project. I have no idea what else TIF money would be aimed for, but presumably to somehow encourage rapid development. 

(Our property is right across the street from the airport property.)

The TIF project is a very new proposal. I am mainly seeking insights on what this project might mean for us and what questions I should be asking. Our county has done a few of these TIF projects in the last couple years around the outskirts of our city with booming results, FWIW. And, I do think this area is ripe for development. 

BACKSTORY:

We own about 4 1/2 acres of commercial land  (actually unzoned, so could be *anything*, but most appropriate for officespace or possibly retail) where our family business resides. We use about a half acre for our business. The remaining 4-ish acres is pretty much undeveloped but fairly well situated for building/development. It's mostly level (rarity here, was done before we bought it) on a nice, busy road, and happens to be across the street from the local small airport (that is expanding.) Our local economy is healthy and growing and should reliably be that way for the future. 

Our business creates our current income (which we need!) and the business itself, along with the real estate it sits on, is a big chunk of our net worth, so being strategic about maximizing its value is something I keep in mind for the long term. 

We will definitely need/want to eventually sell the business itself (likely about 13-15 years from now, unless universal healthcare comes along, in which case, we can/will sell out earlier), either retaining and renting back the portion of the RE that is needed for the business OR selling the needed portion of RE along with the business. 

At the time of (or before) selling the business, we'd nearly certainly "cash out" the remainder of the land by selling it separately. 

(The decision on whether to keep and rent-back the RE vs sell it would largely be determined by the buyer, as in our business, corporate buyers generally don't want to buy the RE, whereas individual buyers generally want the RE. Whether we sold to corporate or to an individual would depend on a huge host of factors, which we can't know until we are closer to selling, which isn't anytime very soon. BUT, I AM confident that the "extra" land will be best off sold separately, and as long as we keep the land needed for the business, we can sell the rest any time. Or we could develop the "extra" land ourselves or with a partner and do that instead of just cashing it straight out . . . I have no idea!)

Note, we *could* move the business to new RE altogether if required, i.e., if the RE became super-duper highly valued (unlikely but possible, and a welcome problem, lol). 

We don't have any immediate plans to further develop or sell the property, but it's always been part of my long term plan to eventually sell it off the "extra" land for development (before or at the same time as when we sell our primary business / retire from ownership), either before we sell the business or no later than at the time we are actively preparing to sell the business (so, 10-15 years from now). Maybe sooner if the right opportunity plopped in our laps; it wouldn't be a bad thing to "cash out" the "extra" part of this real estate. 

Thank you for any insights you can offer.