Make Your Economic Development Project a STAR*®

The Sales Tax Assessment Revenue (STAR*)® program addresses the stagnation and decline in city fiscal revenues as a result of the evolution of consumer spending in today’s economy. Use STAR*® when reimagining a shopping center with a blend of non-retail uses, re-entitling property for development from retail to residential / office / industrial, or when a developer proposes a project with low fiscal revenue impact. The STAR*® program typically involves the following steps:

  • Definition of a custom market trade area based on the targeted project type
  • Evaluation of existing and supportable new retail sales within the targeted market trade area based on existing and projected trends in household spending demographics
  • Identification of local development opportunity sites and the corresponding existing zoning and land use designations
  • Analysis and allocation of proportional sales tax generating potential among opportunity sites based on zoning/land use designation and actual planned/proposed development projects
  • Negotiation of a public-private transaction that is fiscally productive for the local jurisdiction and financially feasibility for the private sector developer on a project-by-project basis via Development Agreement