Arlington OKs $400,000 grant in turning car lot into multi-use development downtown
Arlington’s city council approved 8-0 a resolution that would grant Urban Union, a company redeveloping portions of downtown, up to $400,000 in reimbursement for environmental remediation during work on turning a used car lot into a multi-use development.
Mayor Jim Ross was not present at the meeting to vote.
The $400,000 would go toward reimbursing Urban Union for work done on environmental remediation within two years.
Environmental remediation is the removal of environmental contaminants or toxic materials. In this case, the remediation will be focused on removing asbestos, according to city documents.
The property, at East Division Street and North East Street, is currently not bringing in the kind of tax revenue for the city it could, Deputy City Manager Jim Parajon told the council Tuesday night. He said the agreement would only pay out reimbursement grants to Urban Union if it meets requirements for environmental remediation and will only cover real costs from meeting those requirements.
This is the latest move by Urban Union in its efforts to redevelop unused properties in downtown Arlington. The developer has previously redeveloped eight properties downtown.
Richard Weber, an Arlington resident, told the council he felt the grants being offered were “free money” to companies that feel entitled to the funds.
Parajon told the council the grants given through agreements such as this one lead to higher property values, more sales tax and more employment opportunities for Arlington residents. Those benchmarks are outlined in agreements such as this one and, if requirements are not met, businesses accepting these grants are required to pay back everything.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 9:04 PM.