The Times Record Article LISBON — The Town Council voted Tuesday night to create a tax increment finance district for a 50-acre business park off Route 196. The park will be built behind Longchamp's & Sons Construction Inc., which is located near the Lisbon-Lewiston town line. The TIF would help develop land behind the property. It will be called Longchamp's Business Park and will be run by Longchamp's Realty, said Lisbon Economic and Community Development Director Jennifer Norris. "This is a strong statement by Lisbon that they want to attract new businesses and create jobs for area residents," said Gregory Mitchell of Eaton Peabody Consulting Group. Mitchell worked on behalf of Longchamp's with the town for the planning of the business park and the TIF. The projected real estate value of the completed park within 30 years is $16.5 million, Norris said. A tax increment financing district is a locally approved plan that allows municipalities to earmark property taxes for economic development or other specific municipal uses. When new commercial development happens, a town can set aside the new taxes generated by the increase in valuation on the property and shelter it from county taxes and from the formula for state aid to education. "This TIF will allow the town of Lisbon to divert new tax revenue generated by the new business development within the park to a special purpose project fund to pay for the road and infrastructure improvements associated with the development of the project," Norris said. Given road and infrastructure costs, she said development is difficult for a business to have a return on its investment. The TIF does not incur any debt for the town and does not change the tax structure, she said. Money generated from the TIF will go to related development costs, with Longchamp's doing construction work. "All the new tax revenue will be used for public infrastructure — roads, public sewer, three-phase power," Mitchell said. The split from the TIF will be 95 percent of the sheltered funds for the business and 5 percent for the town, Norris said. The business park will allow development at a time when little land frontage remains along Route 196. Norris said that manufacturing, warehouse and distribution businesses could open in the park. It will have more than 220,000 square feet and be subdivided into six lots. The park and TIF make the town more attractive for businesses, Norris said. "Some businesses have expressed interest in Lisbon, but they didn't have a place to go," she said. The decision to support a TIF also reflects thinking about the future. "With the coming closure of Brunswick Naval Air Station, it's important for us to bridge the gap between that closure and the loss of jobs," she said. Brunswick Town Manager Don Gerrish said that Lisbon's work does not affect Brunswick's plan for a business park and they could both benefit from such development. "We'll all complement each other in different locations," he said. "The key is trying to replace jobs, and that's what we're trying to do. I think it's an opportunity." After the vote Tuesday, councilors thanked Alan LeBlanc, supervisor for Longchamp's, for his work on the project. LeBlanc said he had worked on the planning of the TIF with the town for about two years. Norris said although Lisbon will bear neither the costs nor the liability for the development, it will help with marketing because of the benefit to the town. The park will also be part a Pine Tree Development zone. A Pine Tree Zone allows businesses to reduce or eliminate state taxes for a period of up to 10 years, according to the Maine Revenue Services' Web site.