City council extends CRA agreement with Rural King

Kristi R. Garabrandt, The Daily Jeffersonian
·2 min read

Cambridge City Council recently approved Rural King Realty's request for an extension on its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) due to construction taking taking longer than anticipated on the parcel that will house Marshalls department store. The extension is from 2023 to 2025.

Rural King Realty has requested extension on its CRA with the City of Cambridge, due to a supply issue causing a delay in construction of the new Marshalls department store going into the former Kmart building now owned by Rural King. An opening date for Marshalls is still unknown.
Rural King Realty has requested extension on its CRA with the City of Cambridge, due to a supply issue causing a delay in construction of the new Marshalls department store going into the former Kmart building now owned by Rural King. An opening date for Marshalls is still unknown.

A CRA is ultimately a tax break, City Engineer Nick Cunningham said, and is used by cities to increase economic development and improve aesthetics.

A CRA is based on the property value which is accessed pre- and post-construction. The applicant then gets a tax break on the difference in the property value.

Cunningham originally presented the pre-construction CRA agreement to council's finance committee on Jan. 19, 2021. It was approved on Oct. 12. At that time, the agreement was Rural King would hire 80 to 90 employees within three years  and have an annual payroll of $1.2 million. The company expected to invest $3,750,000 into the property and receive a 50% tax abatement for 12 years.

By granting the extension, Rural King has more time to complete the work for the post-construction assessment and still qualify the for tax abatement.

Rural King, which opened in March of 2021, owns the property which contains six parcels at 61690 Southgate Parkway that was formerly occupied by Kmart.

The construction is to allow for the addition of Marshalls department store to the location. Marshalls was tentatively slated to open in the spring and occupy 24,928 square feet of the south end of the building.

Cambridge Law Director Bill Ferguson said he was working hand in hand with Cunningham on the extension and did not believe the request to be unreasonable as supply and demand issues have pushed everyone back.

There is no confirmed date for the construction to be completed.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: City council extends CRA agreement with Rural King