By Scott Nishimura snishimura@bizpress.net
Fort Worth City Council members on Tuesday broadened eligibility for projects that can be subsidized by the downtown Lancaster tax increment finance district.
The council, following the Dec. 3 vote of the TIF board, removed a cap on total eligible expenses that can be funded by the TIF, eliminated restrictions on eligible projects that were based on their location in the TIF boundaries, added categories of eligible projects, and permitted use of state-allowed Chapter 380 grants in support of projects inside the TIF if the project will use federal or state historic tax credits and financing is contingent on use of those credits, or if the project is on property owned by any of the taxing entities in the TIF.
The changes, approved unanimously by council members, make new property eligible for TIF reimbursement. Those sites include several vacant lots owned by the city along West Lancaster Avenue, and a site now owned by Tarrant County College that is proposed to be an expansion site for the Omni Fort Worth Hotel.