TIF District plan taking shape Future of Route 28 development still up in the air

Derry

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June 26, 2008

By Eric Parry

DERRY — Town staff will present a plan for a tax increment finance (TIF) district in the northern section of Route 28 by August.

Then the members of the Town Council must decide whether they want to go forward with the project to widen the road to help with traffic problems in a section of town that is thought to be attractive to developers.

Public Works Director Mike Fowler said earlier this week that he's working with the town's finance office and business development office to come up with a cost estimate for the project so that it could be completed during the 2009 construction season if the Town Council decides to move ahead with the project.

"We're seeing construction costs increase at an average of 7 to 10 percent per year," Fowler said.

Last month, Councilor Brad Benson led the charge to include $142,000 in this year's budget to help fund the project. Some councilors cried foul because the move came just before the budget was set to be approved but it eventually passed with only four councilors approval.

Fowler said that the Town Council's decision will ultimately depend on whether to expand the road before a developer shows interest in the property in hopes of luring them to town or waiting until someone, like Wal-Mart, shows serious interest.

Ninety-seven percent of the engineering work has been completed and Fowler said his department plans to complete the designs for the project and bring it up to the permitting phase so that it's in the hands of the state if councilors decide to move ahead with it.

But according to Jack Dowd, executive director of the Derry Economic Development Coporation, that someone might have come earlier this month.

A developer has made a deal on the 56-acre Sanmina property.

"When Wal-Mart decided they weren't going forward with the project, (this developer) came forward," Dowd said last week.

Widening of the road from two lanes to five was scheduled to start this month but that depended on Wal-Mart contributing $1 million to the project.

Over the last year there has been much discussion on the Town Council and among town staff whether the town should scrap plans on the northern section of Route 28 and instead focus on economic development on the lower section of town.

Fowler admitted there's been much discussion about bringing municipal water and sewer up to Ryan's Hill but said this week that his department has not received any direction to come up with cost estimates to complete that project.

He said he doesn't want to present cost figures if there were no serious plans to complete the project in the near future.