The City of Las Cruces is announcing the cancellation of this afternoon's 1 p.m. Special Work Session regarding the Royal Crossing Tax Increment Development District (TIDD).
At a public Hearing at 9 a.m. this morning, it was announced that developer LC Nova, LLC, has withdrawn its application to the City for creation of a TIDD in the area formerly known as the Las Cruces Country Club.
Here is a statement from the City:
The application withdraw, and subsequent meeting cancelation, follows an email exchange between the developers and Mayor Ken Miyagishima where the Mayor requested the TIDD to be tabled for a period of six months for both parties to fully understand how this TIDD would operate. "We are sorry this was not able to move forward. This is something new for Las Cruces and I think if the timeline had been extended, we would be able to better collect information. We recognize the efforts by the developers and look forward to working together with them on any other projects they may have in that particular area," said Miyagishima.
Interim City Manager David Maestas thanked staff for their due diligence in reviewing the TIDD and their work to respond to questions and comments about the project. He also thanked the Council and Community for their insight, questions, comments, and their commitment to this community. “It was the first private TIDD the City had considered. Staff did a great job going through it, including the due diligence completed and have set the foundation for future projects of its type”, he said. He also thanked LC Nova, LLC for their effort and interest in the TIDD as well as their existing developments in Las Cruces.
A TIDD would have promoted development and future community goals as defined in the City's Elevate Las Cruces plan in that designated area. It would have been used to construct, operate, and maintain public infrastructure in support of development. A TIDD can establish a baseline property and gross receipts tax (GRT) base, and as development occurs increasing property values and GRT amounts in the district, a portion of the increment as a result of the development is reinvested into the district to support further development.