City of Houston provides a significant tax incentive plan to Westchase area

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The City of Houston has re-upped a deal that will give millions of dollars to a business district on the southwest side.

No questions asked, the district will get the money, even at a time when the city's financial standing is dire depending on who you ask.

This is all thanks to a 2013 deal that allows property tax dollars in the Westchase area to go to the district, not the city.

This 2013 agreement used the property values in 2011 as the baseline. As property values from that point go up, two-thirds of taxes paid on those higher figures will go straight to only the Westchase District.

The city can't use them for anything else thanks to the state law that allows this. More importantly, the intended purpose is to bring people and businesses to the area.

On Wednesday, the City Council approved extending that arrangement for another decade through 2033. The arrangement has been directly responsible for sending $74 million to the Westchase District over the past decade, and is projected to directly send another $132 million there over the next 10 years.

That number does not include additional funding from the city and other sources that would ultimately go to related projects. That's per reporting from our partners at the Houston Chronicle.

"We have our Woodchase Park, which is phenomenal for that pocket neighborhood in Westchase, which is a high-demand park," Tiffany D. Thomas, councilwoman for District F in the Westchase District, said.

Thomas said this economic tool has allowed the district to redirect infrastructure projects, particularly those that improve quality of life.

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