Western Alliance for Rail to Dulles gives itself more time to approve tax district
Washington Business Journal
Sarah Krouse
September 21, 2009
http://washington.bizjournals.com/wa..._deadline.html
The deadline for a petition to tax property owners to fund a portion of the Rail to Dulles has come and gone, leaving the number of stops along the silver line up in the air even longer.
The Western Alliance for Rail to Dulles, a nonprofit organization of property owners — including major area players such as Boston Properties, Brandywine Realty Trust, Corporate Office Properties Trust, The JBG Companies, Tishman Speyer and Vornado/Charles E. Smith — is circulating a petition to establish a tax district for property owners along the planned line.
Under the plan, property owners would tax themselves to pay for $330 million of Fairfax County’s $420 million Phase II share. This would allow the creation of three stops at Reston Town Center, Herndon at the Toll Road and Monroe Avenue and Route 28.
The tax district would last no longer than 50 years from its inception or 40 years from the first tax levy.
Rates would gradually increase from 5 cents per $100 of land value in 2010 by 5 cents each year until 2013. In 2013, the rate will plateau at 20 cents and stay in effect until all three proposed stations were operational.
WARD said the tax should not exceed 25 cents per $100 of land value.
In exchange for the tax, owners are safeguarded from downzoning and from higher transportation taxes on commercial land and will receive greater density for projects within the Dulles Corridor.
The group set a Sept. 18 deadline to collect signatures from 51 percent of the commercial, industrial, multi-family and hotel property owners, but has extended it...until they get the signatures.
Members are staying mum about the percentage of signatures they have secured because “it is constantly fluctuating.”
“We still have some time,” said Jeff Fairfield of Launders Charitable Trust. Fairfield has spearheaded the petition effort with Michael Cooper, senior vice president of Brandywine Realty Trust and Peter Johnson, senior vice president of Boston Properties.
If the district is not formed by the year’s end, the group said it will become increasingly difficult for Fairfax County to fund its portion of Phase II.
According to WARD, it is unlikely that the stations could be added after the line delivers in 2016.
A tax district for Phase I of the rail is already established and operational.