Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis is asking the City Council to create two new TIF districts, short for tax increment financing, one covering Midtown Mobile and one along the industrial waterfront south of downtown, calling them “the biggest tool in our back pocket” for transforming the city. The mayor unveiled the proposals during the council’s Tuesday, Oct. 6, meeting, and a council vote to set up public hearings is expected this coming week.
If approved, property tax values within both districts would be frozen at a set level beginning this fall. Any growth in tax revenue above that baseline, driven by rising property values, would be steered into a development fund dedicated to projects inside each district.
What a TIF district is and how it works
Tax increment financing, commonly called a TIF, is a tool cities across the country use to pay for improvements in areas they expect to grow. The basic idea is straightforward:
- A baseline is set. When a district is created, the assessed value of property inside it is recorded as a starting point.
- Existing revenue continues as usual. Taxes collected on that baseline value keep flowing to the same places they did before.
- The “increment” is set aside. As new investment raises property values, the additional tax revenue generated above the baseline — the increment — goes into a special fund rather than the general budget.
- The fund is reinvested locally. That money is spent on projects within the district, such as infrastructure, public improvements or incentives that help make private development possible.
Cheriogotis emphasized to council members that the proposal would not create new taxes or raise millage rates. Property owners would pay taxes at the same rates as everyone else; the difference lies in where the growth in revenue is directed.
A long-running priority for the mayor
TIF districts have been on Cheriogotis’ mind since the 2025 campaign trail. In April, he said legislation passed during the 2026 session of the Alabama Legislature would allow the city to create new TIF districts around Mobile.
The two proposals presented Tuesday are the first concrete plans to emerge under that new authority.
The Midtown District
According to the meeting agenda, the proposed Midtown District would cover neighborhoods along several of the area’s major corridors:
- Interstate 65
- Florida Street
- Government Boulevard
- Dauphin Street
- Pleasant Valley Road
- Downtowner Boulevard
Cheriogotis said the district would promote new investment in the area’s malls and residential neighborhoods. He pointed specifically to housing and infrastructure needs in some of the older neighborhoods within the proposed boundaries.
“When you look at Trinity Gardens and Crichton, and a little farther south, we’ve got a lot of housing in there that could use some help,” he said. “There’s a lot of infrastructure in there that could use some help.”
Midtown is one of Mobile’s most varied areas, home to established residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors and retail centers. The boundaries outlined in the agenda take in some of the city’s busiest roads, where aging shopping centers and nearby neighborhoods could stand to benefit from targeted reinvestment.
The South Riverfront District
The second proposal, the South Riverfront District, would cover “certain parcels of real property south of Downtown Mobile, adjacent to the east and west banks of the Mobile River, along the Interstate 10 corridor, south of Canal Street and West of Broad Street,” according to the agenda.
That area includes stretches of Mobile’s working waterfront, where the city’s history as a port and industrial center is most visible. Cheriogotis suggested the city expects significant investment there and wants to be positioned to capture and reinvest the resulting growth.
“We hope to use some of the funds by freezing values today, knowing investment is coming and be able to assist that investment probably through some economic incentives, and being able to take some of those increased property values and pour them into this area of our waterfront,” he said. “This TIF in particular, based on the investments we’re expecting, I think it will change the face of the city forever.”
Lessons from downtown and Huntsville
Cheriogotis pointed to Mobile’s own history to make his case. He told council members that downtown would not be what it is today if a TIF district had not been created there three decades ago.
Over the past several decades, downtown Mobile has seen substantial reinvestment, with restored historic buildings, new restaurants and entertainment venues, and a steady calendar of events drawing residents and visitors to the city center. The mayor credits the earlier TIF as a key factor in making that possible.
He also cited Huntsville as an example of a city that has used TIF districts to great effect, saying Mobile could have a share in that kind of prosperity. Huntsville has been one of Alabama’s fastest-growing cities in recent years, and its leaders have used a range of development tools to support new commercial and mixed-use projects.
“When we talk about transforming the future of the city, these TIFs are going to be the biggest tool in our back pocket,” Cheriogotis said.
“Projects that otherwise would not have been economically feasible”
The central argument for the districts, as Cheriogotis framed it, is that the money collected would make possible “projects that otherwise would not have been economically feasible.” He said he expects both districts to greatly improve quality of life in their respective parts of town.
Supporters of TIFs generally argue that the tool allows a city to invest in roads, drainage, utilities or other public improvements up front, encouraging private development that might not happen otherwise. Because the funding comes from growth in property values within the district, the improvements are, in effect, paid for by the new development they help attract.
TIF districts can also draw scrutiny. Because the increment is set aside for the district, other taxing bodies that would normally receive a portion of growing property tax revenue may see that growth delayed while the district is in place. Those trade-offs are typically part of public discussion when districts are proposed, which is one reason a public hearing is part of Mobile’s process.
What happens next
The process has several steps ahead:
- Council vote this coming week: The City Council is expected to vote on the items, which would set up a public hearing on the districts.
- Public hearing later in October: Residents and property owners will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed districts.
- Values frozen this fall: If the districts are authorized, property tax values in both areas would be frozen at a specific level beginning this fall.
- Spending plan: Once the process is allowed to proceed, the city will develop a plan for how the money collected in each district will be used.
What it means for residents
For homeowners and business owners inside the proposed boundaries, the most immediate takeaway is that the plan does not change tax rates. Tax bills would continue to be calculated the same way, and the change would affect how future growth in revenue is directed, not what property owners owe.
Over the longer term, residents of neighborhoods such as Trinity Gardens and Crichton, as well as businesses along Midtown’s commercial corridors and the south riverfront, could see the effects in the form of infrastructure improvements and new development, depending on how the city ultimately decides to spend the funds.
Residents who want to understand exactly where the boundaries fall or how the money might be spent will have an opportunity to ask questions and comment at the upcoming public hearing. The meeting agendas outlining each district are part of the City Council’s public record.
Whether the districts deliver the kind of change Cheriogotis envisions will depend on the investment that follows. But with the mayor describing the waterfront district as something that could “change the face of the city forever,” the coming weeks of council votes and public hearings are likely to draw close attention from residents and developers alike.
