The company redeveloping the former steel mill in Sparrows Point took the first step toward requesting a county subsidy to help pay for needed roads and water and sewer lines.

Tradepoint Atlantic asked the Baltimore County Council to pass legislation that would allow tax-increment financing, an arrangement in which the county would help finance the up-front costs of infrastructure projects.

“Having the necessary infrastructure in place will help us attract marquee tenants and high-quality employers by having shovel-ready sites for them,” said Aaron Tomarchio, a vice president for Tradepoint Atlantic.

In tax-increment financing — often referred to as a TIF — a jurisdiction borrows money by issuing bonds for infrastructure projects that benefit development. The developer doesn’t pay the bonds back through cash payments; rather, they are paid off over time from the increased property taxes paid by the development.

Tomarchio said the company hasn’t determined how much of a financing package it might seek or when a deal might be executed. The legislation before the County Council is a preliminary step that creates a five-year window for a tax-increment financing deal. A council vote is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 4.

Tomarchio said talks are preliminary, although Tradepoint floated the idea of a TIF deal more than a year ago. The company commissioned an economic study from Sage Policy Group that recommended a TIF to help pay for at least part of the estimated $200 million needed for roads, bridges, utilities, stormwater management systems, rail upgrades and port improvements.

“This is signaling that we are looking at a TIF. We are still in conversations with Baltimore County,” Tomarchio said.

Tradepoint Atlantic is a joint venture of local firm Redwood Capital Investments and the Chicago-based liquidation and redevelopment firm Hilco. Tradepoint bought the Sparrows Point property in 2014 with ambitious plans to turn the shuttered steel mill into an industrial campus with shipping, logistics and light manufacturing uses. The site has attracted several distribution centers and an auto import operation.

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said in a statement that the council bill “simply establishes the physical boundaries of a development district in Sparrows Point. It does not obligate the county to any tax increment financing.”

Will Anderson, the county’s director of economic development, said there have been no talks with Tradepoint about details of what a TIF might look like. “We’ve discussed this first step because they asked us to,” Anderson said.

Councilman Todd Crandell, a Dundalk Republican who represents the area where Tradepoint is located, said he’s taking a wait-and-see approach. “This is very early in the process,” Crandell said. “There’s no TIF to examine, there’s no TIF to analyze or crunch the numbers. I’m waiting for that so we can do our own analysis.”

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