Retail sales tax
subsidies short in Oro Valley


Published on Friday, November 02, 2007

Inside Tucson Business



Subsidizes by the Town of Oro Valley to persuade developers to build retail centers there have brought in only a fraction − less than one-fifth − of what was promised when the deals were made.


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A report by Stacey Lemos, Oro Valley’s finance director, to the Town Council says economic development agreements (EDAs) were signed with four retail developments but only two have opened so far. The deals call for the two and the developer to share sales tax revenues as a rebate for building the centers.

The two centers covered in the report are Oracle Crossings, at the southwest corner of Oracle and Magee roads, and Steam Pump Village, on Oracle Road north of First Avenue.

The first center has been opened for two years. In that time the original developer − it has since been sold by B.P. Magee to Bourne Partners − had projected $106 million in sales bringing in $2.1 million in sales tax revenue. Instead, the report says sales have been $35.5 million and sales taxes amount to about $442,000, of which $203,000 is being rebated to Bourne.

At Steam Pump Village, which has only been open a year, projected sales in the first year were to be $26.2 million with sales tax revenues of $525,000. Instead sales revenues have been about $2.1 million and sales tax has amounted to $46,000 of which $18,300 is being rebated to developer Evergreen Devco Inc.

The Oro Valley Town Council, five of the seven of whom are new since the EPAs were agreed to, has voted 6-1 to stop using them. Mayor Paul Loomis was the one to voted against the idea.


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