Cabela’s development goes before council
Cabela’s development goes before council
By Zack Anchors
Staff writer
The development along the Haigis Parkway that will feature a Cabela's outdoor store took one step closer to fruition this week.
At its Nov. 15 meeting, the Scarborough Town Council held first readings on two issues related to the development and scheduled public hearings for both matters. The council voted unanimously to move a contract zone agreement forward and to approve amendments to ordinance related to the Haigis Parkway tax increment financing district.
"This is a very big day for the town of Scarborough," said Councilor Jeff Messer. "This project is going to be a huge asset for the town."
The 70-acre, $74 million dollar development, which has been named the Scarborough Gateway, will include retail stores, a hotel, restaurants and office buildings in addition to the Cabela's store. New England Expedition LLC (NNE), the company behind the development, requested a contract zone because some aspects of the development did not align with the town's existing ordinance. A contract zone essentially allows the town to make an exception from the ordinance for particular circumstances.
"We're only calling for several variations from the ordinance, signage being the primary one," said Town Manager Ron Owens.
In order to maintain a high visibility for the development, Cabela's is planning to erect a sign that will be larger than typically allowed by town ordinance. The contract zone will also allow the store to be built at a size of 130,000 square-feet, exceeding the 20,000 square-foot limit in Haigis Parkway. The other buildings associated with the development will be less than 20,000 square-feet.
The council also addressed several changes to a tax increment finance district that was established in 2003 to help the town pay the costs for infrastructure improvements made to the Haigis Parkway area.
"This is an expansion of the existing Haigis Parkway TIF," said Owens. "It's designed to create a partnership between the town and New England Expedition to create the Scarborough Gateway."
The TIF, a common economic development tool, is designed to mitigate some of the costs of infrastructure improvements that accompany developments by funneling some taxes from the area back into the improvements. In a letter to the council, Harvey Rosenfeld, president of the Scarborough Economic Development Corporation, explained the changes to the Haigis Parkway TIF.
"We are requesting that the town consider amending the existing Haigis Parkway TIF to capture an additional $740,000. The new tax generated by this new value would be returned to NEE to cover their expenditures only when sufficient new value is created," Rosenfeld wrote.
Owens said it is estimated that the development will bring in around $1 million in taxes for the town each year.
On Oct. 24, NNE presented its plans to the Scarborough Planning Board for a required site plan review. They will return to the Planning Board for preliminary site plan approval on Monday, Nov. 20. The council will hold public hearings on Dec. 6 on both the contract zone and the TIF amendments. Once NNE has gained final site plan approval and approval of the contract zone and TIF changes, they plan to begin building as soon as possible.
By Zack Anchors
Staff writer
The development along the Haigis Parkway that will feature a Cabela's outdoor store took one step closer to fruition this week.
At its Nov. 15 meeting, the Scarborough Town Council held first readings on two issues related to the development and scheduled public hearings for both matters. The council voted unanimously to move a contract zone agreement forward and to approve amendments to ordinance related to the Haigis Parkway tax increment financing district.
"This is a very big day for the town of Scarborough," said Councilor Jeff Messer. "This project is going to be a huge asset for the town."
The 70-acre, $74 million dollar development, which has been named the Scarborough Gateway, will include retail stores, a hotel, restaurants and office buildings in addition to the Cabela's store. New England Expedition LLC (NNE), the company behind the development, requested a contract zone because some aspects of the development did not align with the town's existing ordinance. A contract zone essentially allows the town to make an exception from the ordinance for particular circumstances.
"We're only calling for several variations from the ordinance, signage being the primary one," said Town Manager Ron Owens.
In order to maintain a high visibility for the development, Cabela's is planning to erect a sign that will be larger than typically allowed by town ordinance. The contract zone will also allow the store to be built at a size of 130,000 square-feet, exceeding the 20,000 square-foot limit in Haigis Parkway. The other buildings associated with the development will be less than 20,000 square-feet.
The council also addressed several changes to a tax increment finance district that was established in 2003 to help the town pay the costs for infrastructure improvements made to the Haigis Parkway area.
"This is an expansion of the existing Haigis Parkway TIF," said Owens. "It's designed to create a partnership between the town and New England Expedition to create the Scarborough Gateway."
The TIF, a common economic development tool, is designed to mitigate some of the costs of infrastructure improvements that accompany developments by funneling some taxes from the area back into the improvements. In a letter to the council, Harvey Rosenfeld, president of the Scarborough Economic Development Corporation, explained the changes to the Haigis Parkway TIF.
"We are requesting that the town consider amending the existing Haigis Parkway TIF to capture an additional $740,000. The new tax generated by this new value would be returned to NEE to cover their expenditures only when sufficient new value is created," Rosenfeld wrote.
Owens said it is estimated that the development will bring in around $1 million in taxes for the town each year.
On Oct. 24, NNE presented its plans to the Scarborough Planning Board for a required site plan review. They will return to the Planning Board for preliminary site plan approval on Monday, Nov. 20. The council will hold public hearings on Dec. 6 on both the contract zone and the TIF amendments. Once NNE has gained final site plan approval and approval of the contract zone and TIF changes, they plan to begin building as soon as possible.
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