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Projects

Tax Increment Financing

One of the challenges to making improvements downtown is finding the money. One of the ways we are working to support improvements is through Tax Increment Financing. The State of Texas website defines this as, ". . .a tool that local governments can use to publicly finance needed structural improvements and enhanced infrastructure within a defined area. These improvements usually are undertaken to promote the viability of existing businesses and to attract new commercial enterprises to the area. The statutes governing tax increment financing are located in Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code." (http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/registry/zone.html)

The City of Denton is currently working to establish a tax increment financing district for Downtown by summer 2007. A draft boundary map has been viewed and approved by the Downtown Task Force and the Economic Development Partnership Board. The map will shortly go before the City Council for final approval. Click here to view the steps to creating a tax increment financing district.

Click here for a list of questions and answers that we have compiled to inform you about this method of financing improvements. Please feel free to call 940-349-7731 if you have questions or concerns.

Downtown Incentive Grant Reimbursement Program

The City of Denton is currently working on structuring and funding a reimbursement grant program that would provide grants to assist downtown projects with facade improvements, roof and foundation repair, new signs and awnings, reimbursement of impact fees, and utility upgrade costs.

Both the Downtown Task Force and Economic Development Partnership Board have reviewed a draft of the policy. The Denton City Council is scheduled to take a first look at the policy at their March 6, 2007 Work Session meeting. If an adequate funding source can be established, this program should be available to downtown property and business owners by Fall 2007.

Hickory Street Corridor and Arts Walk Project

In 1995, A Vision for Denton: the 21st Century identified the Hickory Street Corridor, from the Square to Bell Avenue, as a project with great potential for increasing pedestrian traffic to the Square and the Visual Arts Center. The "Play" subcommittee suggested that Hickory Street was well suited for a potential arts and entertainment corridor.

The Hickory Street Corridor and Arts Walk Project links several existing and programmed downtown improvements and maintains a tight focus on the City's implementation and redevelopment goals. Extensive studies conducted over the past few years by City staff in conjunction with RTKL and the Leland Group have established a well-conceived sustainable growth and redevelopment plan for the downtown area.

Through staff-consultant work sessions, public meetings, and canvassing of citizens, local stakeholders and Council leadership, the following goals have been established:

  • Preserve historic Downtown and Square area as anchor to urban, mixed-use redevelopment.
  • Establish Downtown Multimodal Transit Center along MKT Rail line for regional rail connectivity.
  • Provide pleasant and convenient link between Multimodal Transit Center and Downtown area that promotes non-motorized vehicular travel.
  • Provide pleasant and convenient link between Downtown and University of North Texas that promotes non-motorized vehicular travel.
  • Promote and facilitate sustainable mixed-use infill and transit-oriented development to increase critical mass and diversity in downtown area.
  • Continue to add and upgrade bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure to promote walkability and increase the number of non-vehicular trips made into and within the Downtown core area and primary linkage points.

Hickory Street Corridor and Arts WalkThe Hickory Street Corridor and Arts Walk will begin at Carroll Boulevard and extend east to Elm Street, will exclude the block from Elm to Locust, and will then continue from Locust Street to the proposed Denton County Transportation Authority Rail Station at Railroad Road. All of the existing sidewalks within both sections of the project will be removed and replaced with eleven-foot wide concrete sidewalks edged by a brick detail one to two feet in from the curb. Pedestrian lighting is proposed throughout the project, as are trashcans, benches, bike racks, street trees and landscaped corner beds and flowerpots at various intersections. An irrigation system is also proposed along the length of the project.

The drive lanes, currently three-wide, will be reduced to two lanes each twelve feet wide with a seventeen-foot wide angle-in parking row on the north side. The south side will be devoted to a bike lane, eight feet wide. On the section from Locust Street to Bell Avenue (the Arts Walk), a lighted concrete/paver median will be installed. This median will also contain street trees. The street along this section will be resurfaced and a drainage system installed.

The Hickory Street Corridor and Arts Walk project is consistent with current long-term plans for the City's downtown revitalization efforts. Upon completion, the project will effectively link the major east/west corridor between the planned Multimodal Transit Center and UNT. Effective linkage depends upon creating a pedestrian- and bicyclist-friendly environment that emphasizes people over cars while maintaining an awareness of and accommodating the needs of the motor vehicle.

Walkable Environment - Hickory Street CorridorStreetscapes need to shelter pedestrians from the sun, protect them from traffic, and invite them to walk. The Hickory Street Corridor and Arts Walk will provide pedestrians and bicyclists a safe, user-friendly connection from the University of North Texas to historic downtown Denton and on to the soon-to-be constructed Multimodal Transit Station where students and commuters will be able to park their bicycles and use the train to reach other destinations in the region.

In addition to historic downtown Denton and the University of North Texas, construction of the Downtown Multimodal Transit Center will create a third major center in Denton's core.

Hickory Street Corridor hubThe Hickory Street Corridor and Arts Walk will provide linkages between all of these hubs, allowing pedestrians and bicyclists to safely walk and ride to and from all points. This increase in pedestrian traffic through the creation of an inviting, walkable environment will not only lead to additional business development in Downtown and stimulation of the local economy, but it will also reinforce the sense that Downtown is indeed the heart and soul of the community – it is the place where people live, work and play.

In April 2006, the City of Denton Downtown Development department submitted a request for funding of the Hickory Street Corridor and Arts Walk Project from the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) Statewide Transportation Enhancement Program (STEP). In November 2006, the City received a letter from the Texas Transportation Commission notifying staff that TxDOT has pulled all funding for enhancement projects. As part of the STEP submission process, this project was ranked by the North Central Texas Council of Governments number nine out of 55 projects submitted in TxDOT's Eastern Subregion, indicating that this project's transportation implications are important not only to Denton but also to the region.

As this project is crucial to the transportation system of downtown, the Denton City Council has placed the project on its list of FY2008 Congressional Priority Projects in an effort to secure a federal appropriation for the $1.9 million dollar project.

Capital Improvement Project

Click here for more information.

Downtown Transit

Click here for more information.