Dublin, Georgia

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Dublin GEORGIA

DUBLIN, GEORGIA’S longtime commitment to downtown improvement hasallowed the city to reimagine and redevelop itself into a historic destination. Dublinutilizes ongoing tax incentives, public-private partnerships, and local fundingprograms to continually motivate growth.

One way Dublin has achieved downtown growth is by maintaining historicdistricts and underwriting historic tax credit applications, which encourages theright kind of development. A Downtown Loan Fund in partnership with the Bankof Dudley and Morris Bank also provides small businesses with an opportunityto make capital investments. The city also hosts frequent events to draw peopledowntown. Dublin has used grant and own source funding to steadily invest inits downtown. Streetscaping improvements, greenspaces, and utility investmentspaved the way for the redevelopment of key properties including “The Skyscraper”and the Fred Roberts Building. Today, investments continue with plans for theJackson Street Plaza. The following sections review the details of Dublin’s mostimportant programs and projects.

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HISTORIC THEATRE DUBLIN

Operating Funds

| TOTAL OF $279,500

FUNDING SOURCES

• LAURENS COUNTY: $50,000 in capital projects, $5,000in operating funds

• CITY OF DUBLIN: $86,500 in annual operating funds

• THEATRE SALES: $20,000 in revenue

• CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS: $20,000 in revenue(e.g.: Donation from a local retailer)

• HOTEL-MOTEL TAX: $98,000 in restricted funds forTheatre Dublin operation

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Recurring Incentive Programs

| EVENTS

• Local events are an important recurring incentive that help drive downtown sales and demonstrate potential for downtown economic activity. They attract over 50,000 visitors to downtown annually.

• COST: The yearly budget as high as $30,000 for annual events and includes First Friday concerts, a six monthweekly farmers market, Jingle & Mingle at Christmas, the New Year’s Eve Shamrock Drop, BBQ festivals, pop-upboutiques, and more. Business partnerships provided $20,000 in cash donations to the DDA.

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Right: "Jingle and Mingle" is just one example of the many successful events that downtown Dublin hosts each year.

| UNDERWRITING HISTORICTAX CREDIT APPLICATIONS

Above: Many historic Dublin landmarks, such as Dublin Carnegie, can be seen from the balcony of The Fred Roberts Building.

• DETAILS: Dublin’s DDA underwrites pre-development costs for historic tax credits. Applying for historic taxcredits is expensive because it requires architecturalplans and hiring tax credit consultants.

• HOW IT WORKS: If the historic tax credit is approved, the developer agrees to pay back the full cost of theapplication. If it is not approved, the developer will payback half.

• COST: The DDA has used this incentive four times withunderwriting costs between $5,000 and $50,000. Inevery case, they have been paid back.

• CURRENT PROJECTS: 1898 Corker Building (10,000square feet); 1904 Kingfisher Building (5,400 squarefeet); 1902 Henry Building (14,000 square feet)

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| DOWNTOWN LOAN FUND

• DETAILS: The downtown loan fund provides low interest loans funding business owners' capital investments.

• PARTNERS: The DDA reviews loan applications; Bank of Dudley or Morris Bank provide the loans.

• CRITERIA: Small businesses located in the downtown historic district that make capital investments canqualify for a loan.

• COST: Banks offer loans of $5,000 — $20,000 at PRIME +.5% interest rates over terms of 5-20 years.

Historic Districts

| FEDERAL HISTORIC DISTRICTS

• Stubbs Park-Stonewall Street Historic District

• Dublin Commercial Historic District

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| LOCAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION DISTRICT

• Dublin’s historic district is one of their biggestassets and they have expanded it to include all of itscommercial downtown.

• Architecture is a key part of the city identity and preservationhelps retain its character. The city has alsoworked to adopt historic guidelines for design sothat buildings will look historically appropriate andprotect surrounding property values.

• COA application and Historic Review Board areadministered through the City Building & InspectionsDepartment, with the DDA offering technical assistanceto applicants.

HIGHLIGHT

Federal Historic District benefits

> Once an area is classified as a Federal Historic District, itis listed on the National Register of Historic Places throughthe National Park Service (NPS). Benefits of being registeredinclude:

• Consideration in planning for federally assisted projects

• Eligibility for certain tax provisions, especially whenworking to rehabilitate structures

• An increase in property value

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Public Projects

| THE FRED ROBERTS BUILDING

• DETAILS: Once a lively hotel, The Fred Roberts building has been reimagined. It now includes condo-style lofts, officespace, and retail capacity. It has been fully occupied since 2014.

• COST: Dublin partnered with a private developer to secure a $400,000 community development block grant thatthen invested $3.5 million in property. The original developer went bankrupt, but the Morris Bank created a holdingassociation which sold off the pieces, saving the building from failure.

Left: "The Skyscraper," originally home to First National Bank of Dublin in downtown Dublin, is now the Dublin campus for Georgia Military College. Its grand opening celebration occured in 2015.

HIGHLIGHT

Enterprise Zone

> A portion of the city is recognized as an enterprise zone by the Georgia DCA. Incentives can include local property tax exemption, fee waivers, and property tax abatement.

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| THE SKYSCRAPER

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Cost: $420,000 public funding + HISTORIC TAX CREDITS

• DETAILS: "The Skyscraper," a well-known Dublin success story, was built in 1912 and opened as the headquartersof the First National Bank of Dublin. In its heyday, it towered above downtown at seven storieshigh. It was closed in the 1980s, but reopened in 2015 as the Georgia Military College Dublin Campus. Itsrestoration included adding space for a bistro on the ground floor, classrooms, and offices on the top floors.

• FUNDING: The DDA contributed $50,000 of underwriting to discover $900,000 in historic tax credits. The Cityof Dublin completed a $50,000 utility upgrade. There is a long-term lease on the parking lot that includes$270,000 in improvements.

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"Dublin Green" lampposts, waste bins, and bicycle racks can be found throughout downtown Dublin.

| EMERALD PATHWAYS

C o s t: $1,143,203

• DETAILS: The “Emerald Pathways” projects focuses on beautifying streetscapes downtown by updating sidewalks,incorporating brick pavers, planting trees, and placing power lines underground.

• FUNDING: Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) Fund Grant provided $871,362. The city matched the funding with $271,841 in infrastructure investments.

| UTILITY UPGRADES

Cost: $1,500,000

• DETAILS: The city has replaced and modernized sewer lines downtown to allow growth and development. New lots that are expected to be high capacity receive line upgrades between two — six inches.

| FARMERS MARKET & FEDERAL COURTHOUSE BUILDING

• DETAILS: Three acres were donated to the City of Dublin on West Madison Street, located behind TheatreDublin. The city built an open-air farmers market pavilion with a stage and lawn for outdoor concerts. Thefacility is used for weekly farmers markets, civic events, concerts, and private gatherings. The property includes1/3 mile walking trail that connects to Downtown.

• FUNDING: City funding $350,000 + $50,000 USDA grant

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HIGHLIGHT

Market on Madison

> The Market on Madison hosts several events throughout the week, including the farmer's market, and has become a Dublin staple.

Other Public Projects

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Above: The Bicentennial Plaza is used as a programming space, but it also links downtowntogether. The Plaza connects Carnegie Library, Theatre Dublin, and Market on Madison.

| BICENTENNIAL PLAZA

• DETAILS: Dublin celebrated its Bicentennial in 2014. The Bicentennial Plaza was constructed in order to mark the occasion. An unnecessary road was closed and replaced with a brick walking pathway in the arts district. This transformedthe area into a walkable section of town, which has connected several downtown landmarks including TheatreDublin, Carnegie Library, the Fred Roberts Hotel, and Market on Madison.

• FUNDING: $1,100,000 in SPLOST funding

• IMPACT: The Plaza has increased the occupancy of the Fred Roberts Building and has transformed the area into awalkable section of town. It has attracted other investors downtown, including Georgia Military College.

| JACKSON STREET PLAZA AND PARKING

• DETAILS: The City of Dublin and the DDA purchased a buildingand the adjacent property in a dormant area of downtown.Currently under construction, the structure includes plansfor a pocket park and 70+ parking spaces to accommodatedowntown growth.

• FUNDING: $2.5 million in SPLOST

• IMPACT: The Jackson Street project is a prime example ofprivate investment following public investment. Thirteenresidential spaces are planned, in addition to ten commercialspots, and one co-working space. The development hasalready gained $10,000,000 in private investments. CompanySupply Rotisserie Bistro opened in October 2015, expandedin anticipation of public development, and now has 48employees.

Above: A rendering of the Jackson Street Plaza concept

| PRIVATE INVESTMENT FOLLOWS PUBLIC INITIATIVE

• In every public improvement project completed downtown, the amount of private investment that followed far exceeded the cost of the improvement. Of the nearly $40 million invested in downtown Dublin over the last decade, less than 20 percent accounts for publicly-funded projects. Additionally, every completed project and new business accounts for a significant increase in property and sales tax revenue.

Above: From concerts to movies and festivals, Dublin's events are widely attended throughout the year. Public commitment to programming and development has revitalized Downtown Dublin and made it the heart of the city again.