Council Discusses South Downtown CDA

The Provo Council recently discussed a proposed South Downtown Community Development Project Area in anticipation of a public hearing at the Council Meeting on July 1, 2014. The designation of this zone will help promote further development in the area, which has seen increased developer interest due to the presence of the Utah Transit Authority Frontrunner Station at the heart of the proposed zone.

What are the goals for the proposed CDA?

Provo City Redevelopment Director Paul Glauser said there are key points that the Provo Redevelopment agency would like to accomplish in the proposed plan for the South Downtown Community Development Area. These points are:

• Enhance employment

• Provide Citizens with better access to goods and services

• Create a better tax base

• Provide residents with better housing opportunities

• Reinforce the Provo downtown as the center of Utah County

• Improve the general standards and character of the area

• Promote the building of improved building facades (create an urban feel)

• Helping achieve the city’s parking vision, including the increased use of putoff street parking areas and parking structures for higher density development parking

• Making streets more pedestrian friendly

• Provide for increased open spaces to complement increased densities

• Provide for sustainable development both economically and environmentally

• Provide for redevelopment using tax increment financing

What is a Community Development Project Area? 

A Community Development Project Area is the designation of a zone which will make it eligible for tax increment financing, which allows for future development of an area. This designation is a tool which will allow the city to fulfill its own general plan and bring about its desired zoning and development plans. Interest in future development in the South Downtown area is anticipated especially regarding transit-oriented development around the new Frontrunner station and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system planned for University Avenue.

Once a Community Development Project area is designated, nothing will change until or unless the affected taxing entities (Provo City, Utah County, Provo School District and Central Utah Water) agree to go forward with new development deals.

What is Tax Increment Financing?

Tax Increment Financing allows property taxes from redevelopment projects and their gains in taxes to subsidize current improvements which are projected to create the conditions for those gains. Tax increment financing does not mean that property taxes for current property owners will be increased. For more information about tax increment financing, see this

Wikipedia article. More information about tax increment financing as a tool of economic development in Utah can be found in the Utah State Code Title 17C here.

What are the exact boundaries of the proposed zone?

(See map below)




You can review the plan and documents for the proposed area here.

If you have questions or comments about the proposed zone, you may attend the public hearing at the Council Meeting on July 1, 2014, or reach out to your council member directly here. Comments and questions may also be directed to Provo City Redevelopment here.