Starkville gives tax break to business landowners
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – You might remember the parking lot that used to belong to Vowell’s Grocery store.
It looks a whole lot different from what it looked like a year ago. WCBI spoke with Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill about how the city of Starkville is giving tax incentives to land owners and what that means for incoming businesses.
The board approved an ordinance on Tuesday to provide businesses an incentive to improve their property, better serving the city and its residents.
The owner of the former Vowell’s Market has done just that.
“Mr. Oswalt has gone in under his 44 properties business and has improved the parking. He’s created a new landscape. He’s improved the façade. He’s improved the interior and all of that is part of why we would give a tax abatement,” said Spruill.
A tax abatement is a reduction in how much property tax is owed.
Why would cities offer this specific type of incentive?
“The answer is to pull in those kinds of new environments that are being created off of Highway 12 for example, because we do have some areas that are somewhat dilapidated or well used, we’ll put it that way and could use that updated. Anyone who wants to do that is certainly welcome to do it and then apply for the tax abatement. And those rules that are in that ordinance, you know the amount of benefit or improvement you make to an area will tell you how much you might be eligible for but it’s intended to incentivize property owners to improve their businesses and make them look better and make them serve the community better,” said Spruill.
According to Spruill, three businesses are expected to move into the shopping area.
