On Wednesday, the city of Wichita Falls took ownership of Sikes Senter.
Technically, the purchase from the New York owner was done by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, commonly known as the 4A Board.
The board’s budget shows $29 million was allocated for the purchase. The City Council’s action item authorizing the purchase said $19 million would be financed through bank loans.
Outgoing Chamber of Commerce CEO Ron Kitchens said the plan is to find a developer to buy and demolish the mall and build new retail space with some land set aside for a stadium for Midwestern State University.
Who exactly is the new owner of the mall?
The Wichita Falls Type A Economic Development Corporation is a nonprofit allowed under Texas law for “manufacturing and industrial development.”
Under state law, cities are allowed to adopt a sales tax to fund EDC’s projects, according to the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
“The main requirement is that the businesses bring new money into the community,” the comptroller’s website says. “Certain projects are required to create or retain primary jobs.”
The Comptroller’s Office defines the primary jobs as limited to specific industry sectors such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing and scientific research and development.
The comptroller’s office said Type 4A EDCs may use their tax revenue “to fund land, buildings, equipment, facilities expenditures, targeted infrastructure and improvements.”
Those projects can include:
Things that EDCs can spend tax revenue on are:
According to the comptroller’s office, the EDC must enter into written performance agreements with any project it funds.
Those performance agreements must include:
The City Council has the final approval of all projects.
State law authorizing EDCs requires city councils to appoint a board of directors with at least five members to serve terms up to six years. They do not have to meet any qualifications.
The members of the Wichita Falls EDC are:
Texas law requires voters to approve creation of an EDC and the use of the sale tax by it. That did not come easily in Wichita Falls.
Times Record News articles show that attempts to create one failed at the polls in 1990 and 1994 before passing in January 1997.
The EDC and its counterpart, the Wichita Falls Sales Tax Corporation, which spends tax money for quality of life projects, were each given ¼ of a cent of sales tax collected in the city to spend on their project.
The Wichita Falls EDC’s financial summary shows an unrestricted fund balance of approximately $9.54 million.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Who really owns Sikes Senter Mall now?
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
