SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – An Amazon “TIF” Advisory Committee met for the first time in Shreveport Monday to discuss the details of a special development district for the area surrounding the new Amazon fulfillment center under construction in North Shreveport.
TIF stands for tax increment financing, a method of public financing used to divert future property tax revenue increases for a set period of time to subsidize redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community improvement projects.
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced in May 2021 that Amazon is investing $200 million to build its first robotic fulfillment center at the Hunter Industrial Park on Corporate Drive near the Caddo Correctional Center. It is expected to bring more than 1,000 new direct jobs to the region. The Caddo Parish Commission created an Amazon TIF district in November 2021 to help encourage redevelopment in the area.
“There is an involvement and a desire to see the city, the parish, the school board, the local community, and Amazon all work together on this,” Jeff Everson said. “All those different entities are represented on this board today.”
“For this particular TIF district, it is concentrated in a certain part of North Shreveport, and what I wanted to see come out of that is the revitalization of that community,” Tabatha Taylor said. “I think North Shreveport is one of our best-kept secrets in Shreveport, Louisiana, and I think it has been neglected in some years.”
In Monday’s meeting, the committee talked about how the Amazon TIF district will be organized and discussed establishing a baseline for the taxes, and Industrial Development Board Funds.
Members of the committee include Caddo Dist. 3 Commissioner Steven Jackson, Shreveport Dist. A Shreveport City Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor, District 3 Caddo Parish School Board member, Dr. Terrence Vinson, and Amazon representative Jessica Breaux. The committee has a vacant fifth seat, which is currently listed as a “joint city/parish appointment.”
