The City of La Verne successfully closed a privately placed lease financing that provides the first financing to an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD).
Kosmont Financial Services served as Municipal Advisor to the City. Kosmont Companies Special Districts Group assisted the City with EIFD formation and negotiation of County partnership.
One of the first formed EIFDs, the La Verne EIFD is using Tax Increment Financing to pay for the cost of installing various public improvements in the City’s Old Town Area in advance of opening Metro’s Foothill Gold (L) Line station. The public facilities are designed to ensure that high quality private development takes place, as envisioned by the Old Town La Verne Specific Plan.
The City will loan the lease proceeds to the EIFD which in turn repays the loan with the Tax Increment generated by the private projects, making this the first Tax Increment based EIFD financing since the dissolution of redevelopment agencies 10 years ago.
In November 2021, the City of Palmdale and County of Los Angeles established a cooperative 20,000+ acre EIFD to fund critical public infrastructure improvements in both incorporated and unincorporated areas of that community.
More recently in August 2022, the City of Carson and County of Los Angeles established a cooperative 1,700+ acre EIFD to fund remediation, affordable housing, and other essential public improvements of communitywide and regional benefit.
We are seeing more cities and counties evaluating tax increment financing (TIF) as part of their economic development and public financing toolkit, and with good reason; these districts can induce private investment and install sustainable infrastructure.
It has been an active year for EIFD formations, with new districts formed in unincorporated Humboldt County, unincorporated Sacramento County, the City of Napa, the City of Rancho Cucamonga, the City of Sanger, and other communities, in addition to those mentioned above.
Contact the Kosmont Infrastructure & Special Districts Team at [email protected] to find out how these financing mechanisms and other tools can assist your community or project. You can also visit them at the League of CA Cities Annual Conference and Expo in Long Beach next week. Stop by the Kosmont booth (# 652).