BY SUSAN WARE

If a new plan for the Palazzi property goes as expected, a special town meeting may be called in September to ask voters to approve a new finance structure that would lessen taxpayer liability by $16 million.

On Wednesday, July 11, Feldco Development Corp., a Connecticut-based real estate developer, presented the Hooksett Town Council with a new tax increment finance, or TIF, plan for the Palazzi site, located on Hackett Hill Road where a sprawling retail development is proposed.

If approved at a special town meeting, the new plan would release taxpayers from an $18 million bond that Town Meeting approved in May 2006. Instead, taxpayers would be liable for only $2 million, with the developers borrowing the other $16 million privately.

Under the proposed plan, Feldco would develop the site following a plan they used successfully in Scarborough, Maine. The Cabela’s development project there broke ground on July 17, 2006.

The Palazzi property, where Cabela’s wants to build, is in a tax increment financing district, or TIF district. This enables the town to kick back property taxes to companies and developers, making the location desirable. Under the proposed plan, only 60 acres would be included in this TIF deal. Property taxes on the balance, between 80 and 100 acres, would go into Hooksett coffers.

Initially taxpayers agreed to foot the bill for $18 million worth of infrastructure, sewer and roads. The new plan calls for Feldco to get $16 million in private financing over 20 years, which they say they will pay back using returned property taxes and rents from the properties they developed on the Hackett Hill site.

According to Feldco business partners Barry Feldman and Gene Beaudoin, Cabela’s approached them several months ago to look at the Hooksett site.

“Cabela’s initially approached us about developing the surrounding properties because they felt that this project was stalling,” said Beaudoin. “We told them that it wouldn’t work to develop the surrounding property because we wouldn’t know who the tenants will be, and Eastern retailers may hesitate because they are unfamiliar with Cabela’s.”

Under the new Feldco plan, the developer would buy the Palazzi property and build a 150,000-square-foot Cabela’s retail sporting goods store.  Feldco would remain the landlord, holding a long-term lease with the giant sporting goods retailer as the anchor tenant.

David Barnes, an attorney with Divine, Millimet & Branch, who is advising the town on the financing structure for this project, likes the proposed plan.

“Bond attorneys, by nature, are very conservative. This plan looks good,” said Barnes.

Barnes said that since he couldn’t find another example of this type of development in New Hampshire, he ran the plan by state-level officials to see if it could work with the state’s parameters. So far, he has gotten a positive response from everyone.

“I have learned that this is the way these large developments happen in other parts of the country, but we are not Maine, so I had to ask if this was something that we could do here,” said Barnes.

Barnes recommended that if Town Council decides to take the proposed plan to voters,  they hold a public hearing prior to a special town meeting so questions can be answered.

Town Councilor David Ross said this plan looks like a great opportunity for the town.

“This is truly the last goldmine on Route 93. It is about time someone recognized that,” said Ross.

For Town Councilor Jason Hyde, the project speaks to his passion for socialism.

“You all complain about my talking about socialism, but with this project is the most socialistic I’ve seen. All roads on this lead to socialism,” he said.

Chairman Paul Loiselle asked Feldco to return with a proposal that spells out all of the details in the simplest possible terms, along with the developer’s financial records.

Beaudoin agreed and said if all goes well, they would like to get special town meeting approval in September, go to the Planning Board in the fall, start site work in the spring and have Cabela’s open its doors in fall 2008.

“This proposal is very interesting. We would like to hear more about it,” said Loiselle.