Mayor, council to consider approving downtown TIF district

The school board for Topeka Unified School District 501 loomed last October as a potential threat to the creation of a tax-increment financing district to encourage development in downtown Topeka.

But that no longer appears to be the case as Topeka’s mayor and city council prepare Tuesday to consider establishing the Dynamic Core TIF District in an area bounded generally by S.W. Topeka Boulevard, S.W. 17th Street, S.E. Adams Street and the Kansas River.

The USD 501 board voted 6-1 on Nov. 21 to support creation of that district, provided the proposal involved is revised to include specific wording requested by the district. The dissenting vote was cast by board member Scott Mickelsen, who said he was philosophically opposed to TIF districts.