LAS CRUCES – Las Cruces City Council, which convened Monday as the board of directors for the Downtown Las Cruces Tax Increment Development District, approved $ 1.845 million in funding for multiple downtown projects.
In a 5-0 vote, the TIDD board approved funding for the restoration of the Amador Hotel, a redesign of Campo Street, grants for the renovation and improvement of Main Street, data tracking terminals for pedestrians and portable sound devices to support events in downtown.
District 3 councilor Gabe Vasquez and Mayor Ken Miyagishima were absent.
The TIDD board decided not to pursue the proposed funding for the installation of metal panel shading structures in downtown Plaza de Las Cruces. The cost of building the blueprint chosen by the council last August rose from an estimated $ 992,000 last year to $ 1.3 million on Monday.
Public works director David Sedillo said the total cost increase was due to rising material and labor costs. City staff are ready to go back to the drawing board to evaluate other potential designs that may cost less.
Notably, the list of projects pending approval did not include a downtown incubator and a small business incubator in the city center, which enjoyed broad Council support at the last TIDD Board meeting in April.
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At the April meeting, the board informally agreed on $ 1 million in funding for the incubator, pending formal approval of the project later.
Mandy Guss, director of city communications, said the city’s budget department has since raised questions about whether the city can use TIDD funds to support the incubator. She said in an email that the city “continues to evaluate potential sources of funding for this project”.
District 4 Councilor Johana Bencomo suggested that the board should wait to approve the shadow structure project in case costs drop in the future or another design can be completed at a lower cost. She was also concerned about saving money for the incubator if the city’s legal department grants TIDD funds for it.
“A small business incubator feels very important right now as we enter this type of post-pandemic world,” said Bencomo. “When businesses begin to bounce back as people who started their home-based businesses in the past year and a half, it seems incredibly important to me.”
With the vote on Monday, the TIDD board approved $ 1.5 million in funding to continue the restoration of the Amador Hotel. Proponents of the project spoke before the board to urge the panel to approve funding.
If the historic hotel was given an official designation on the national historic register, city officials and supporters emphasized that it was eligible for new funding opportunities. The city estimated that it could cost up to $ 8 million to complete the restoration.
The Campo Street redesign project received $ 200,000 in TIDD funding to be used for the design work. The project, estimated to be worth $ 2 million to build, will redesign the street to make it more accessible to pedestrians and to reflect aesthetically other downtown streets.
The board approved $ 45,000 for the city to buy and install four digital signs along Main Street to track downtown pedestrian activity and use cell phone data to assess where and how long people spend time. Similar devices in banks were no longer supported by their company two years ago, the city said.
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The board also approved $ 50,000 in funding for the city’s Renovate Main Street Incentive Program, which provides reimbursements of up to $ 25,000 per project for the renovation or improvement of Main Street real estate used as a for-profit retail, restaurant – and entertainment companies are to be used. The $ 50,000 will be used to add two additional grants to the program, bringing the total number of grants on offer in fiscal 2022 to eight.
Eventually, $ 50,000 in TIDD funding was granted to purchase portable sound equipment to help the city host outdoor events downtown.
Michael McDevitt is the city and county government reporter for Sun News. He can be reached at 575-202-3205, [email protected] or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.
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