As the FBI building on Maple Street readies for occupancy this month, City Manager Tom Ambrosino cautioned the City Council Monday evening that building owners would probably seek a substantial Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) agreement.
“There will be a pending TIF for the FBI building that has been under discussion for a very long, long, long time with the City,” Ambrosino noted, explaining that he had taken on these discussions from his predecessor. “It surprises me that hadn’t been taken care of yet, but it hasn’t. You will want to engage on that one because it will be a very, very big TIF.”
The FBI leases the new building on a long-term basis from property owner and developer ACS Development, specifically from Patricia Simboli.
According to Ambrosino’s comments to the Record, the TIF would be substantial, and meaningful discussions between the parties have only recently begun despite the project nearing completion.
“The proposal was originally 10 years at 50 percent, but that looks like now to only be a starting point,” he noted. “They might be looking to lengthen out the time period and get some number higher than 50 percent. The discussions are very preliminary at this point.”
Under TIF agreements, developers receive tax breaks for a set period on newly created property value, ensuring no existing tax revenue is forfeited. Given that the FBI building represents an exceptionally valuable structure—one whose assessed value has not yet been determined by City assessors—and was constructed on what was previously a parking lot, any tax break on new value would translate to substantial lost revenue for the municipality.
This announcement emerged as an unexpected dispute broke out during Monday’s Council session regarding two TIFs requiring corrections for typographical errors. The Council had approved TIF agreements in June for both the new Broadway Hotel on the Chelsea/Revere border and the relocated Rosev Dairy on Eastern Avenue, with state approval coming the previous week. The Council faced a straightforward request to fix a typo on the approval document.
Councillor Roy Avellaneda objected, requesting the matter be sent to committee for additional review. He argued that insufficient details were available concerning the TIF, particularly regarding the Broadway Hotel, and questioned whether approval had been rushed.
“I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing I didn’t do the job I am supposed to do and I am elected to do,” he stated. “Last June we were really busy…There was a lot of stuff coming at us. Maybe this one slipped under because so much was going on. To me, this means I have a second bite at the apple that I didn’t take last time. We are only taking a second look at this. We are going to set the course for how we’ll do this going forward. We’re different than 20 years ago when we had to beg and plead for people to come here.”
Avellaneda suggested the hotel might be in sound financial condition and therefore not require a tax break, implying the City might simply be boosting the hotel company’s profits.
This raised important concerns given that developer Christine Thomas, a Chelsea resident from a New Hampshire company, has collaborated with the City on numerous hotel projects in recent years and has benefited from a consistently business-friendly City Council. Thomas’s company’s TIF requests have typically received enthusiastic approval, making Monday night’s questioning potentially significant.
Councillors Judith Garcia and Damali Vidot sided with Avellaneda, voting against the TIFs alongside him.
“I don’t see what the urgency is,” Garcia remarked. “I don’t see any problems with being more informed and doing my homework a little more and asking some additional questions.”
City Manager Tom Ambrosino reminded the Council that the City had made commitments, and the hotel developer was awaiting TIF approval before commencing construction on a challenging, contaminated site—one the previous administration had encouraged development upon.
“This developer went forward on a very difficult site at the insistence of the City,” he explained. “The City should stick to its word. This really only involves a typographical error that I’m here asking you to correct. It’s not different at all that what you already approved back in June.”
Councillor Leo Robinson and Council President Dan Cortell concurred with Ambrosino’s position.
“In June, we had ample time to ask any questions,” Robinson stated. “This was introduced and went to a second reading. Some neglected to ask these questions and that’s too bad they did. I think it’s too bad we’re here at this point.”
The two TIFs ultimately passed on an 8-3 vote, with the three councillors maintaining their opposition.
The unexpected conflict foreshadows a more contentious debate over the FBI agreement, which will request considerably larger financial incentives and arrives amid a Council climate that appears less uniformly supportive of such tax breaks than previously.