Development plan to benefit district

PLEASANT GROVE — The Alpine School District has entered into a community development agreement with Pleasant Grove, which is giving 50 acres of farmland near the I-15/Pleasant Grove interchange to a developer to build a convention center and at least two high-rise hotels.

The district normally receives $150 in property taxes for the entire 50 acres because taxes on agricultural land are lower than taxes on other properties, said Rob Smith, the school district's business administrator.

Under the new agreement, the district is poised to receive $77,400 a year in taxes — only 15 percent of the normal taxable value but obviously significantly more than $150, which is why the district is participating in the agreement.

"The question is, 'Would they develop it without the agreement?"' Smith said. "And the comment you get from the city is they would not."

Another incentive for the district is that the conference center and hotels, which will be built by resort developer John Q. Hammons, will encourage development in surrounding areas — and the district will receive tax money from those developments.

Furthermore, as the value of the conference center and hotels increases, the amount of tax money the district will receive in time will also increase, Smith said.

The taxes that the district would normally receive will flow to the city's community development agency to help pay for roads, sewer lines, utilities and to repay the city's $35 million bond issuance for the project, Smith said.

The agreement is expected to last for about 25 years or until the bond is paid off, whichever occurs first. Then the taxes will return to regular rates.

The city will also receive a portion of county taxes generated by the convention center property.

According to city officials, groundbreaking for the upscale Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center should take place in 2008. The hotel will be upscale, officials say.

"There's a class of traveler that always seeks to stay in the finest (hotels)," said Pleasant Grove economic developer Richard Bradford. "This will be on par with any of the finest hotels in the United States and some of the resort properties in the European market."

The city also expects to have several restaurants locate in the area as a result of the convention center that are not presently in Utah.

Though no contracts have been signed with specific establishments, Bradford said restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory are being considered.

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Contributing: Amy Choate-Nielsen

E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com