Newport approves up to $7 million in revenue bonds to support Ann Street housing project

The Newport Board of Commissioners on June 29 approved Commissioner's Order No. 55, authorizing up to $7 million in aggregated taxable revenue bonds to support the Ann Street project, a planned set of owner‑occupied homes and related infrastructure in the 1000 block of Ann Street and portions of 10th Street.

City staff and consultant Dick Spore described the bond order as the next step following an inducement resolution the board adopted in February 2024. Spore said the project will require state approval before bonds can be issued; that approval was previously obtained and referred back to the city in 2024 after a state hearing, and longer‑than‑expected delays followed. He described Urban Community Developers, Inc. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on housing and said the project requires third‑party support from a private partner (referred to in the transcript as "Corporax") and construction lenders.

Spore explained the incentive structure for the project in the meeting record. As stated in the transcript, the project’s property‑tax incentive was described as a “payment move of tax” that provides $7 per $1,000 to the city and a marginal difference intended to induce home purchase by lowering homeowner costs; the board and presenters described that mechanism as the standard industrial revenue bond approach for encouraging owner‑occupied redevelopment.

Also present were representatives from The Catalytic Fund (identified by Spore) and from Urban Community Developers/Corporax. Spore said both The Catalytic Fund and Heritage Bank were prepared to proceed as construction lenders if the bond issue moved forward.

The board moved and seconded the order and then voted by roll call. Vice Mayor Smith Marorrow, Commissioner Sutherland, Commissioner Redwansky and Mayor Kadulli voted yes; Commissioner Rectton voted no. The order therefore passed by a 4–1 margin.

Spore and staff emphasized the sequence required for these transactions: local inducement and board authorization, state review and approval where required, and then bond placement and lender closings. No public comments were recorded during the item. Commissioners did not amend the inducement terms during the meeting; the order as presented remained the controlling document for the city’s authorization to pursue the financing.