• Active
• Artful
• Accessible
• Green
• Accountable
• Area

Crystal City Gains Momentum

Crystal City Gains Momentum

Arlington County Board Creates Financing Tool For Crystal City Improvements

Crystal City (Arlington, VA) – Yesterday, the Arlington County Board approved the creation of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) area and fund to help pay for infrastructure improvements in support of the Crystal City Sector Plan. This is the first time that the County will use this tool in support of large scale infrastructure improvements.

"The TIF allows taxes that will be collected to stay in the area where they are collected," said Crystal City BID President/CEO Angela Fox. "This is Arlington County's first real concentrated direct investment in Crystal City."

The TIF supports development and redevelopment projects by capturing the increase in property tax revenues created by the development or redevelopment of an area and investing a portion of those funds in improvements associated with those projects. It is not an additional or new tax; it redirects and segregates a portion of the net new property tax revenues for a specific purpose. The amount of TIF revenue is determined by setting a baseline assessed value on January 1, 2011 and in each subsequent year tracking the incremental increase in assessed values relative to the base year. Initially, up to 33 percent of increment real property tax revenues would be dedicated to infrastructure improvements.

The fund will be used to fund a significant portion of the streetcar and other infrastructure improvements that will help transform Crystal City. Approval of the funding mechanism is an important step towards the creation of a more transit-oriented, walkable, lively Crystal City as laid out in the Crystal City Sector Plan.

The Crystal City Sector Plan is the culmination of four years of research, collaboration, community involvement, and compromise that followed the closures announced as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. The proposal sees Crystal City as a world-class place for people to live, work and play in a neighborhood bustling with activity 18 hours a day. The plan calls for a better balance of residents and workers in Crystal City (with 26,000 residents and 56,000 jobs by 2050) all served by a vastly improved and better connected road, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian network.

With the approval of the TIF, as well as the Crystal City Sector Plan, the Arlington County Board has sent a clear signal that Crystal City is, and will remain, one of the smartest places to do business, live, and visit within the metropolitan area.

###

The Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) is a public-private partnership established in April 2006 to promote the vibrant Crystal City business, retail, restaurant and residential community. The BID is committed to showcasing the area as a world-class destination for visitors, employees and residents. Crystal City is ACTIVE, ARTFUL, ACCESSIBLE, and GREEN. For more information, visit www.crystalcity.org.