BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL APPROVES MOU FOR MARKET SQUARE DEVELOPMENT
The Brenham City Council voted unanimously today (Thursday) to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to lay out reimbursement guidelines for a residential and commercial project.
The MOU creates the foundation for a Chapter 380 agreement between the city and Market Square, a 51-acre mixed use development between Market Street and Highway 290 that will include multi-family residential, commercial, retail, hospitality and restaurant properties.
Brenham | Washington County Economic Development Director Susan Cates said the agreement allows the city to reimburse qualified infrastructure costs to the developer using proceeds from the city’s Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).
The agreement adheres to a policy also approved today by the council, referring to reimbursement for infrastructure costs incurred by private developers for public improvements. Cates said the infrastructure will be turned over to the city, and the developer will be reimbursed over the course of 20 years.
The total property value of the fully developed Market Square project is anticipated to surpass $133.8 million. The total cost of the supporting infrastructure, including water, wastewater, roads and drainage, is estimated at $7.5 million. The developer can receive up to $10 million in public infrastructure reimbursement for the project, but must submit receipts to the city showing it paid the development costs. Only tax increment revenues generated by the properties on the land tract can be used to fund reimbursement.
Cates said this project, along with the ongoing development in the shopping center at Highway 290 and Chappell Hill Street, will contribute to substantial economic growth in the immediate area.
Cates said the developer estimates that the project will reach complete development by 2027. With this MOU in place, she expects announcements for what is coming to the individual properties will start in April.
Also at today’s meeting, the council:
- Approved the purchase of equipment for the City of Brenham Street Department using certificates of obligation. The purchases include a John Deere motor grader for $281,544, a Mustang Cat wheel loader for $264,800, and a Hlavinka tractor shredder from Massey Ferguson for $97,548.
- Accepted the bid of Kustom Clean of Brenham for a three-year contract worth $149,352 to provide janitorial services for city facilities. CNC of Somerville was selected to provide services at the police department and animal shelter at an annual cost of $39,600.
- Approved terminating the 2002 interlocal agreement between the city and Washington County providing for subdivision regulation within the City of Brenham’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and approving a new interlocal agreement between the city and county. The new agreement would establish the city as the authority of subdivision regulation only on property included on the city’s adopted annexation plan. Properties not included on the annexation plan and located in the city’s ETJ will be reviewed and approved through the Washington County Commissioners Court and would not be reviewed by the city’s Development Services Department or the Planning and Zoning Commission. County Commissioners approved the proposed agreement on March 8th.
- Held a public hearing but took no action on a request from the Brenham Housing Authority to adjust the zoning for the 1.2 acre property at 1003 Hasskarl Drive that currently serves as the site of the community center at Fairview Terrace. The zoning change from R-2 Mixed Residential Use to B-1 Local Business Mixed Use would allow BHA to expand the allowable uses for possible future development of the community center.
- Approved an amendment to the professional services agreement with Strand Associates, Inc. for Hurricane Harvey mitigation projects. The amendment covers language changes, scope of work modifications and sequence alignment when compared to the final General Land Office contract. No monetary amounts have changed.
Click here to read the agenda packet for today's meeting.