Dec. 19—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Finance and Legal Committee on Tuesday, Dec. 17, unanimously recommended approval for the expansion of the current boundary area of the City of Jamestown’s Renaissance Zone.
Doreen Stroh, city assessor, said Jamestown would have nine additional blocks in the Renaissance Zone, increasing the number from 22 to 31 blocks.
She said the Renaissance Zone boundary would extend south on the east side of 1st Avenue South to the former location of Hardee’s. The boundary includes homes along 2nd Avenue Southeast from 6th Street to 10th Street Southeast.
The boundary extends east from Hardee’s former location and another three blocks from 2nd Avenue to 5th Avenue Southeast. The boundary includes homes and businesses from 9th Street to 10th Street Southeast.
Stroh said two more blocks have been added near 12th Avenue Southeast. The boundary runs from 3rd Street to 5th Street Southeast and 10th Avenue to 12th Avenue Southeast. The boundary includes homes along 10th Avenue Southeast from 4th Street to 5th Street Southeast.
Stroh said expanding the Renaissance Zone boundary would allow property owners to apply for a five-year tax exemption.
“They need to put 50% value back into the property and extend the life of the structure,” she said.
The Renaissance Zone program helps revitalize communities across the state and encourages development through tax credits, according to the North Dakota Department of Commerce website. The program offers state and local tax credits for five years to residents and business owners to invest in the community.
The Finance and Legal Committee unanimously recommended approval of a 2024 abatement request for a property located at 306 22nd Ave. NE.
Stroh said Alpha Opportunities purchased the property in August to operate it as a group home.
She said the discount would reduce the property’s value by about $136,500 through 2024 for the months Alpha owned the property.
“It was $468,000 and it will be reduced to $331,000 by 2024,” she said.
The Finance and Legal Affairs Committee unanimously recommended approval for funding for Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp.’s 2025 Flex PACE program. for the amount of $500,000.
If approved by the Jamestown City Council, the 2025 Flex PACE program will be funded on an 80-20 city and county split. The City of Jamestown’s share would be $400,000, while Stutsman County’s share would be $100,000.
The Stutsman County Commission on Tuesday, December 17, approved the request to fund the JSDC’s 2025 Flex PACE program.
The Flex PACE program is an interest purchase program through the Bank of North Dakota that requires a community matching portion, according to JSDC’s document for reviewing Flex PACE applications. The interest buydown can range from 5% to as little as 1%. The Jamestown-Stutsman County community match portion is 30% of the total interest buyout with a maximum amount of $85,714. The community portion of the interest buyout is a loan from JSDC collected according to the terms of the loan at 2% over a four-year period.
In 2024, the JSDC participated in 12 Flex PACE loans totaling more than $640,000, said Alyssa Looysen, JSDC business director. She said the investment brought about $1.5 million and more than $14 million in private investment to the Jamestown area.
Three projects were listed as participants in the 2024 Flex PACE loans, but used other incentives instead of Flex PACE dollars. Looysen said about $235,000 will be returned to the city of Jamestown.
The Jamestown Building, Planning and Zoning Committee unanimously recommended approval to enter the first reading of an ordinance to amend the zoning of lots one and two on block one of the Harold P. Bensch Addition.
The properties are located at 301, 401 and 402 11th Ave. S.E.
The destination of the buildings will be changed from a general industrial and production district to a general commercial district.
