Tax district deal on old Las Cruces Country Club site could be revived, mayor reveals

LAS CRUCES - Mayor Ken Miyagishima revealed Monday the proposal to create a tax increment development district on the land which used to be the Las Cruces Country Club could be revived.

The mayor told councilors during a Las Cruces City Council meeting Oct. 5 he had heard from the Zach Wiegert, a Nebraska-based real estate developer who had proposed to turn the mostly vacant land into commercial retail, office space, entertainment and several types of housing, amounting to a $457 million estimated private investment.

The new Three Crosses Regional Hospital opened on part of the old country club land this week and would have been included in the Royal Crossing TIDD.

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The mayor said Wiegert and he will meet for a video call Friday. The meeting could lead to a revival of the so-called Royal Crossing Tax Increment Development District.

"I don't plan on really changing my position," the mayor said Monday. "And my position isn't that I don't want it; the position is the things I had discussed with him."

"If it's something that he's agreeable (to), then … I'll probably schedule a work session," Miyagishima said.

Wiegert wasn't able to be reached for comment.

The deal between Wiegert's team and the city fell through in August. Wiegert withdrew his application after receiving some suggestions from the mayor via email, which included a shorter length for the TIDD agreement and removing developer representation from the TIDD's governing board. The mayor was also concerned bond financing would be used.

The mayor then told Wiegert he was proposing to delay the TIDD's formation for six months to further study its potential effects.

In an interview with the Sun-News at the time, Wiegert said the mayor's skepticism caused him to question the city's level of commitment.

"Our justification for withdrawing the TIDD application was that it had become apparent to us that the Mayor was going to do everything in his power to derail the development," Wiegert wrote in a statement in August.

At the time of the withdrawal, the city council was a week out from voting on whether to form the TIDD, and the withdrawal came on the morning of a planned public hearing on the TIDD. Some neighbors and councilors had questioned the financial commitment asked of the city in the proposed agreement.

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A TIDD is a financial incentive under which a portion -- or increment -- of new tax revenue generated in an area is reinvested to encourage and support more private development there.

The increment would have covered the cost of public infrastructure improvements, debt service and operations and maintenance of the public infrastructure. The city and Doña Ana County were projected to divert $262 million in tax revenue over a 25-year period to the TIDD, according to a financial analysis prepared for the city and county by Hilltop Securities.

A peer review commissioned by the city in July, done by the firms Proyecto LLC and Strategic Economics, revealed that developers had omitted required annual revenue projections from their financing plan and suggested ways the city could have reduced the amount of money it would have committed to reimburse developers, plus strategies the city should use for future TIDD proposals.

Michael McDevitt is a city and county government reporter for the Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-202-3205, [email protected] or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.

Keep reading:

What happens to country club land now that TIDD deal is dead? Developer withdraws TIDD application for old country club site after concerns from mayor Proposed tax increment district to develop old Las Cruces Country Club moves forward

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Tax district deal on old Las Cruces Country Club site could be revived, mayor reveals

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