Olney City Council Approves TIRZ Housing Zone

The Olney City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 24 to adopt the formation of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 (TIRZ 1), clearing the first major hurdle in a plan designed to jumpstart housing development and ease the city’s longstanding workforce crisis.

The Council will take its final vote on Dec. 8. Once fully approved, the housing-focused TIRZ is projected to generate $24 million for the City of Olney over its 45-year lifespan, along with $16 million for Young County and $7 million for the Olney Hamilton Hospital District, according to financial projections presented to city officials.

The zone’s creation follows a petition delivered earlier this month by attorney David Earl, representing Tower Extrusions President Mark McClelland and his development group, Olney Development, which plans to invest roughly $6 million to accelerate new home construction. Mr. McClelland attended the council meeting accompanied by his daughter Lyndsey Miller and son-in-law Reid Miller, who co-lead Olney Development.

Major employers like Tower Extrusions and Air Tractor say they have imported approximately 700 workers each day from surrounding towns because Olney lacks available housing. Local leaders say that shortage has hampered workforce retention, and has stunted population and business growth, and the city’s tax base.

Ahead of the vote, the Council held a public hearing at which residents questioned Mr. Earl about the project. Resident Elizabeth Goeckel, who moved to Olney to farm and sells her produce at a fruit and vegetable stand on Country Club Road, asked whether she and other landowners would have any input into what types of housing surrounded her acreage.

“I came here to farm, not to live in suburbia,” she said. “Will there be a buffer between us and them? I came and put money down and I would appreciate it if this council would (ask) what’s going on.”

After closing the hearing, council members approved the ordinance establishing the TIRZ boundaries and setting up the financing structure that will allow future increases in property values to flow into a dedicated housing fund.

Following the meeting, Lyndsey Miller said the project cannot proceed without the TIRZ in place—both because Olney Development needs its financing mechanism, and because the TIRZ will allow the group to leverage state and federal infrastructure grants.

“We need more than the $6 million to finish it,” she said of the 247acre project made up of smaller parcels both inside and outside city limits. “By the time you pay the architect, all the costs and ownership, you need the $33 million [total].”

Olney Development is preparing to begin in several locations at once with different types of projects, including: An “executive level” home on a 10-acre tract on the development’s northwestern edge.

Duplexes or quadplexes across from Tower Extrusions—housing that would meet immediate workforce needs.

Additional lots that can be offered to outside builders once infrastructure is in place.

Residents should expect to see visible activity “right away,” Mrs. Miller confirmed, once the TIRZ receives final approval. “Reid and I are excited,” she said. “We’re going to put them up fast.”

Mr. Earl previously explained that TIRZ 1 will capture the increases in property value beginning Jan. 1, 2025—making passage before the new year critical.

Once approved, the TIRZ will allow reimbursement of infrastructure costs to Olney Development and future builders; lower lot prices, because infrastructure expenses can be subsidized over time; down-payment assistance programs for local workers; and eligibility for infrastructure grants and low-interest development loans Mrs. Miller said the TIRZ is crucial because securing grants requires proof that the city already has substantial funding committed.

“A lot of the grants, you have to have so much of it funded,” she said. “This allows you to use that [TIRZ increment] to help get those matching grants.”

She added that once the Council approves the TIRZ on Dec. 8, Olney Development can immediately begin approaching other developers.

“As soon as they pass it… you can go to other developers and say, now you can get reimbursed. Now we can get low-interest loans. We can qualify for funding for infrastructure. It doesn’t all have to be paid for by all new development.”

If passed, Olney Development could begin site work, infrastructure installation, and lot preparation as early as January—marking the first large-scale housing effort in Olney in more than a generation.