1 month ago
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The Homewood Chamber of Commerce hosted a community conversation event featuring the developers of the proposed Samford Creekside District at Frothy Monkey on Monday night.
The event offered an opportunity for community members to ask questions about the development in a casual setting ahead of a public hearing at City Council next Monday night.
The public hearing will cover development plan approvals and rezoning requests for Creekside West, a proposed mixed-use development, and Creekside East, an area that will remain mostly untouched in order to protect the city's salamander habitat.
Landmark Development President Bob Dunn and Samford University Vice President for Finance, Business Affairs and Strategy, Colin Coyne, were present at the event, speaking briefly to the crowd and answering questions one-on-one as they mingled with residents.
Coyne announced an update to the Creekside website, a new FAQ page that addresses some of the questions they've received from the community.
Dunn reiterated the four key pillars of the project, pointing to what developers view as an opportunity to support Homewood City Schools, build community assets, participate in environmental stewardship and create a stronger financial future for the city.
"One thing we know for certain is Creekside and our whole Samford Horizon vision and plan will do a lot to increase tax rates to support the city of Homewood and the school district," Dunn said. "I would argue, there's no better way to fund building schools than driving investment with the university partner that's going to grow tax base that can be used to help build schools with the community going forward. That's really education partnering with education to build a better community."
Homewood City Schools released a preliminary report in January detailing a long-range facilities plan. The report noted that several of the school system's elementary schools are in need of additional programs and that many school buildings will soon need investments in roofs and HVAC systems. The report stated that HCS will need to spend $13 million per year to maintain the current condition of the schools and address life-cycle needs.
The school system is awaiting a final version of the report that may have updated numbers.
"Without question, this project can be a huge contributor to the city of Homewood and the need to improve and build schools," said Dunn. "I'm not gonna argue it's the only way, but I don't think the city will find a better way to support strengthening and sustaining high quality education than through an investment like Creekside."
Developers estimate the project will generate $656.9 million in tax revenue over the next 40 years, with $401.9 million allocated to the city and the remaining $255 million directed to the school system. Many residents have questioned how these figures were determined, and Dunn explains that they were calculated using an industry-standard methodology.
"You've got to start with a program, got to have a framework around which we can measure fiscal impact, around which we can plan for," Dunn said. "Projects are always better when they're designed and planned in a comprehensive manner, rather than building by building. So that's part one."
Dunn continued, "Part Two, you have to keep in mind, we're using a time horizon that's over a period of a good number of years. Why do we do it that way? Well, the government kind of dictates that. If the government builds a school, they're going to finance that over 30 years. If the government builds a road, they're going to finance that over 30 years.
"The IRS tells us over what period of time we have to depreciate an asset. So there's kind of an industry standard over what period of time you forecast this. So you take a program — like what we have proposed for all of Samford Horizons —and you take it out over time. We know what the taxes generated will be."
Dunn also noted that the numbers reported are a conservative estimate.
The development will reach council next Monday and residents are invited to voice their opinions on the topic during the public hearing at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
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