Packard Plant Developer Asks for Tax Freeze

A developer working on a restoration of the Packard Plant are asking Detroit City Council for a 12-year “tax freeze” on the property. Arte Express Detroit plans to use the site to create a mixed-use commercial, office, and residential development.  

Kari Smith is the Director of Development for the firm. She says freezing property taxes would help with the cost of the renovation.

“It will keep the taxes where they are,” Smith says. “We will continue to pay taxes like we always have, but it will freeze the taxes so that they don’t increase as the building is renovated and occupied.”

Smith says construction will begin as soon as City Council solidifies the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act, an ordinance that provides tax exemptions for rehabilitated commercial buildings. Smith says she expects approval in September when City Council returns from summer recess.