A plan to transform much of East Hartford’s aging Founders Plaza office park into about 1,000 apartments mixed with commercial development could get a big infusion of funding through the property taxes the project generates. The legislature’s Planning and Development Committee will hold a public hearing on March 10, to discuss the creation of the “Port Eastside Infrastructure Improvement District,” which would be able to raise funds through bonding to pay for infrastructure, including utilities, roads, a planned greenway, garage and more, said East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin. Tax increment financing is a tool municipalities and developers have long used to defray the costs of infrastructure and other groundwork needed for large-scale developments. Proponents note TIF agreements cost municipalities nothing other than a portion of the tax revenue they would not have seen anyway without the new development.
https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/new-special-taxing-district-eyed-for-massive-port-eastside-development-in-east-hartford