Presentation outlines $500,000, 20-year TIF to bring Aldi to Volunteer Plaza
May 15, 2026 | Sullivan County, Tennessee
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During the work-session portion, the commission heard a presentation on a proposed tax increment financing (TIF) amendment to support Project STRIVE, a plan to locate a new Aldi supermarket in Volunteer Plaza Redevelopment District, the site of the former Hills Department Store in Bristol, Tennessee.
Joel Callison, legal counsel for Bristol Housing, said the proposed TIF would run up to 20 years with a maximum indebtedness of $500,000 to fund site work (retaining walls, stormwater and debris removal) necessary to prepare the parcel for a grocery lease. Tom Hanlon, economic development manager for the City of Bristol, said the store footprint is described in materials at roughly 19,000–20,600 square feet; the developer expected to hire 12–18 employees.
Presenters provided a revenue estimate: the current assessed value on the property is roughly $361,000 producing about $5,825 to the county annually; after development the new assessed value for the building was estimated at $1.6 million producing the incremental real-property increment estimated at $17,868 per year to support TIF debt service. Staff also presented projected annual taxable sales of about $13 million and an estimated local sales-tax return of roughly $292,500. Presenters emphasized the project would not move forward without the TIF amendment and said both the Bristol Housing Board and Bristol City Council had recommended approval.
Commissioners asked why the TIF included zero holdback for the county and whether that carried downside risk; Tom Hanlon said staff could not make the project finance without a zero-holdback structure in the pro forma. Commissioners also asked about schedule: presenters said site construction would begin that summer if the TIF is authorized and the store would open the following year, with tax rolls updated thereafter.
The commission did not vote on the TIF at this meeting; staff said the item would be on the commission calendar the following week for formal action.
Joel Callison, legal counsel for Bristol Housing, said the proposed TIF would run up to 20 years with a maximum indebtedness of $500,000 to fund site work (retaining walls, stormwater and debris removal) necessary to prepare the parcel for a grocery lease. Tom Hanlon, economic development manager for the City of Bristol, said the store footprint is described in materials at roughly 19,000–20,600 square feet; the developer expected to hire 12–18 employees.
Presenters provided a revenue estimate: the current assessed value on the property is roughly $361,000 producing about $5,825 to the county annually; after development the new assessed value for the building was estimated at $1.6 million producing the incremental real-property increment estimated at $17,868 per year to support TIF debt service. Staff also presented projected annual taxable sales of about $13 million and an estimated local sales-tax return of roughly $292,500. Presenters emphasized the project would not move forward without the TIF amendment and said both the Bristol Housing Board and Bristol City Council had recommended approval.
Commissioners asked why the TIF included zero holdback for the county and whether that carried downside risk; Tom Hanlon said staff could not make the project finance without a zero-holdback structure in the pro forma. Commissioners also asked about schedule: presenters said site construction would begin that summer if the TIF is authorized and the store would open the following year, with tax rolls updated thereafter.
The commission did not vote on the TIF at this meeting; staff said the item would be on the commission calendar the following week for formal action.
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