Redevelopment Commission adds Lafayette Theatre to TIF plan, approves reimbursement resolution for future bonding

At its June 25 meeting, the Lafayette Redevelopment Commission voted to amend the Consolidated Creasy Central tax-increment financing (TIF) plan to include the Lafayette Theatre and a related Centennial neighborhood townhome project, clearing a procedural hurdle to use TIF revenues for future financing of the theatre renovation.

Bond counsel Dennis Otten of Bose McKinney & Evans told commissioners the declaratory resolution is the step that permits those projects to be added to the plan and later considered in a public hearing before final bond issuance. "This will go before the plan commission at its next meeting. Then we'll go to council and we'll come back here to the redevelopment commission for a public hearing on that," Otten said.

Municipal advisor Greg Olsen of Baker Tilly presented preliminary financing schedules showing an estimated direct project cost of about $19.4 million and total project cost including financing near $21.5 million. "We're looking kind of at a total project cost with the financing cost of around 21.5 million or so," Olsen said. He said the analysis currently models a bond issue near $15.5 million; not-to-exceed amounts in the resolutions are larger to allow for contingencies and potential missing cash sources.

Olsen said the Commission's plan is to structure the transaction so a redevelopment authority holds title to the theatre and leases it to the redevelopment commission; lease payments would match debt service and be funded from the consolidated TIF pledge. He described a property-tax back-up included to improve marketability and achieve lower interest rates, and explained that temporary use of road assets would be included in the financing package to satisfy rating-agency requirements while construction is underway.

Advisors estimated annual debt service for the obligation at roughly $1.6 million per year and said projected TIF revenues through the Creasy Central area's 2039 expiration provide coverage in modeled scenarios. Olsen characterized those coverage ratios as conservative, noting they had not accounted for additional future development beyond existing inventory.

Commissioners asked for clarity about funding and timelines. The director told the Commission the city acquired the theatre in 2019, plans a historic exterior restoration and interior renovation to a roughly 475-seat venue, and estimated construction could start in late August or early September with completion by February'March 2027. The director also said approximately $2 million in cash available to the project comes from savings on the public safety center bond.

The Commission also approved Resolution LRC 2026-12, a reimbursement resolution that declares the city's intent to reimburse eligible pre-issuance project expenditures from future bond proceeds, a step required by federal tax rules for tax-exempt financings.

Both resolutions were approved on voice votes. The declaratory amendment (LRC 2026-11) and the reimbursement resolution (LRC 2026-12) now move forward to the plan commission and city council as part of the next steps ahead of a public hearing on the financing.

What happens next: staff and advisors will continue to refine the financing schedule and monitor market conditions before formally pricing any bonds; the Commission will hold a public hearing on the project before any bonds are sold.