Report: PF urban renewal created $745M in taxable value

POST FALLS — A recently completed impact assessment demonstrates that two recently closed urban renewal districts generated long-term economic and community benefits for the city, taxpayers, businesses and public agencies, according to a press release.

The Center Point and East Post Falls urban renewal districts created more than $745 million in new taxable value during their 20-year lifespan, "transforming underutilized land into thriving commercial, industrial, residential, and employment centers," the release said.

Combined assessed property values grew from $63.8 million at district creation in 2001 to more than $809 million by district closure in 2022, eventually surpassing $1 billion in 2023.

The report was commissioned by the Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency.

“These districts demonstrate how strategic public infrastructure investment can create long-term economic opportunity for the entire community,” said PFURA representatives in the report summary. “The benefits did not stop when the districts closed — they continue to generate jobs, business activity, and tax revenue today.”

Between 2016 and 2022 alone, PFURA invested approximately $28.1 million in transportation, sewer, utility and development-support infrastructure using tax increment financing, without relying on city general fund dollars or increasing property tax rates. 

The report estimates that those investments helped leverage more than $561 million in additional assessed value growth during the same period — a 20-to-1 return on public investment, the release said.

Key infrastructure projects included the Greensferry Road Overpass, the Beck Road/I-90 interchange corridor, major sewer system upgrades and transportation improvements that unlocked private development opportunities throughout the city.

The report also found that employment within the former district boundaries expanded significantly. Combined employment in the districts grew from 1,869 jobs in 2003 to 3,952 jobs in 2024, while the number of employers increased from 116 to 243 businesses.

Now that the districts have closed, about $4.4 million in newly unlocked annual property tax revenue is flowing directly to local taxing entities, including the city of Post Falls, Kootenai County, Kootenai Fire & Rescue, North Idaho College, local schools and other community service providers, the release said.

The assessment concludes that urban renewal has proven to be one of the most effective economic development tools available to Idaho communities by financing critical infrastructure, "encouraging private investment, expanding the tax base, and strengthening long-term fiscal stability for taxpayers and local governments alike," according to the release.