Courtyard by Marriott Hotel

There were 42 on-street parking spots. The City of Manhattan sold a public parking lot to the developer for a little over $800,000.

The proceeds will be used to assist in the development of other Aggieville upgrades. Additionally, since this was the first major development in Aggieville after the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district was established, the increased revenue from people frequenting businesses will help fund future infrastructure projects. In 2020, it was estimated this hotel alone would generate $5 million in TIF revenue for Aggieville improvements over the next 20 years.

The Aggieville Community Vision requires a funding source to finance public improvements like multi-story parking garages, landscaping, and street amenities. One of those sources is a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district.

A tool created by state statute, when a TIF district is created, the City establishes a base assessment valuation of property in the district and freezes it. The district continues to provide property tax revenue to the City, County, USD 383, and State at that same level for the next 20 years. The City then captures the increase above the base in tax revenue resulting from rising property value in the future years from redevelopments and the natural increase in property value over time. The City invests that money directly back into the district in the form of public improvements. Those public improvements attract more private development and reinvestment, which in turn, increases the value of property in the district that the City can again capture and invest back in the district- and the process repeats itself. This is the same mechanism the City used to finance improvements for the Downtown redevelopment that began in 2006. It is not a new tax or fee, but is simply a redirection of tax revenue that will be collected through 2038.

The Manhattan City Commission established the Aggieville TIF boundary in March 2019, and the TIF Redevelopment Plan was finalized in the summer of 2019. The boundaries include: Bluemont Ave to the north, Fremont St to the south, 14th St to the west, and 10th St to the east. Due to the nature of TIFs, the more valuable and earlier in the 20-year window redevelopment occurs, the greater value the TIF will provide for Aggieville.

Construction was funded privately.

The City of Manhattan is leading an initiative to implement a community-wide vision for the future development of Aggieville as a vibrant, historic, pedestrian-oriented urban district that offers diverse shopping, dining, entertainment, and residential opportunities to students, visitors, and the broader community. A year-long process beginning in spring of 2016 resulted in a comprehensive and cohesive planning document with a clear direction for future development and civic improvements in the district, addressing and balancing the needs and desires of the district and the Manhattan community.

The Aggieville Community Vision plan document describes the future vision for Aggieville and projects to follow. The document is responding to the issues identified and the opportunities explored through research and community input we received through focus group meetings, outreach events, an open house, and our community survey yielding more than 4,200 responses. The plan was adopted by the City Commission via Ordinance no. 7280 on April 18, 2017.

In 2017, the the City partnered with Olsson Associates and Walker Consultants to determine future parking demand based on the redevelopment envisioned in the Aggieville Community Vision Plan and how that demand might be met through multi-level parking garages. Capacity and potential constraints on infrastructure, including water, sewer, and storm-water due to redevelopment were also assessed. The final Parking and Infrastructure Report provided cost estimates for various scenarios so policies for infrastructure, public–private partnerships, and parking management strategies could be implemented.

In December 2018, the Aggieville Community Vision to Reality Plan was adopted, putting the puzzle pieces of Aggieville future together. It’s a complete design concept that edges Aggieville closer to its envisioned future – a future that enhances Aggieville to achieve its fullest potential.