Proposal supposed to benefit aging, inner-suburb properties
The developer of a planned mixed-use development along Interstate 95 wants to be included in a proposed Prince George’s County program that is supposed to benefit aging, inside-the-Beltway properties.
The Gould family, developers of the 2,200-acre Konterra development in Laurel, is lobbying County Executive Rushern Baker to amend his proposed property tax break program so their development would be eligible.
Builders of developments eligible for Baker’s program can arrange to make direct payments to the county in lieu of paying higher property taxes. Developers still would pay property taxes on the original value of the property, but the arrangement could save them millions of dollars by not having to pay taxes on properties as they gain in value for up to 20 years.
The program could be the deciding factor for a company to locate in Prince George’s, according to Tom Himler, the county’s deputy chief administrative officer for budget, finance and administration.
However, Baker’s proposal is specifically designed to help properties inside the Capital Beltway and around the county’s 15 underdeveloped Metro stations, which would not include a sprawling development such as Konterra, according to Konterra attorney Andre Gingles.
“We don’t know whether or not it’s a tool that would be right for Konterra. It might be right for a portion of it,” Gingles said. “If you have legislation where it’s a tool that can never be used, it creates a problem.”
But a development like Konterra, which has been in the works for decades, isn’t the kind of project the county executive is trying to attract with the tax breaks, according to Del. Doyle Niemann, D-Prince George’s.
“I think Konterra is going to be built on it’s own, so I’m not sympathetic,” Niemann said. “The whole point of this program is to attract development that wouldn’t otherwise happen.”
The program could provide a potentially massive tax break to Konterra, which Del. Barbara Frush, D-Prince George’s, compared in scale with Fairfax County’s sprawling Tysons Corner.
Konterra officials have been meeting with Baker and top county development officials in a push to include an amendment, sponsored by Frush, allowing Konterra to apply for the property tax breaks, according to Gingles.
County officials are assessing Frush’s proposed amendment, according to spokesman Scott Peterson.
Frush said she plans to delay a vote on Baker’s program Friday morning to give the Gould family more time. Konterra’s discussion with the county executive’s staff should continue next week, Gingles said.
