U of L Considers Tax Revenue Incentives for Main Campus

The University of Louisville is looking to expand tax incentives from the Nucleus life sciences campus to its main campus.The university activated Tax Increment Financing (TIF) this year for over 200 acres downtown to build a health sciences corridor including its Innovation Center on the Haymarket property, which is scheduled to be finished in March 2013.U of L will collect a portion of any increased tax revenue from around the Nucleus campus. This year, the university expects to receive $1.3 million from its downtown TIF.Now, U of L President James Ramsey says Kentucky’s Economic Development Cabinet is will release an economic impact statement next month to measure whether 973 acres on the university’s main campus is TIF-ready.If approved and U of L decides to activate the TIF district, the main campus will likely focus on supporting manufacturing and engineering initiatives including the Louisville/Lexington super region project, BEAM.“We have expertise in that area and so we think that at the Kentucky trailer property that those kinds of activities can really be highlighted as a research park,” said Ramsey.Further, if approved, U of L must spend over $200 million to activate the TIF. U of L is likely halfway there already with planned expenses, said Ramsey.“Our goal is to get it activated as quickly as possible so that we can take the proceeds and then reinvest back into economic activity,” he said.Activating the tax incentive program for around the Belknap Campus may still be a couple years away, Ramsey said. But following its activation the Shelby Campus TIF is likely to follow, he said.