On Monday we talked about the rumblings from developers about how they didn't want to pony up the increasingly large sums they were on the hook for as part of a special assessment district around the coming Transbay Tower. Well, an agreement has been struck after a small compromise.
The assessments were something they agreed to a long time ago, when the district was approved, and in exchange for paying these special taxes on their land, they were granted the ability to build much taller buildings than would normally be allowed. The assessment money was to be used to extend the Caltrain tracks, and ultimately those for the high-speed rail, to the Transbay Transit Center. This whole thing is called the Downtown Rail Extention or DTX.
As the property values have risen, developers are now collectively going to be on the hook for $1.4 billion in these Mello-Roos assessments for the DTX, and they are not happy about it. But at the Board of Supervisors' meeting yesterday, the city gave in to developers insofar as they will have to pay the assessments over 37 years, instead of 30, thereby decreasing their annual obligation. The amount remains the same, as the Chron reports.
Also coming out of Mello-Roos funds may be the cost overruns for the rooftop park at the Transit Center, as earlier reported.
The final vote on the Transbay Transit Community Benefits District will now happen in two weeks.
[Chron]