At their final meeting of 2023 Tuesday night, the Manhattan City Commission approved a development agreement with Back 9 Development for the Midtown Aggieville Project.
The plan consists of the city issuing $80 million in industrial revenue bonds to Back 9 as well and extending their timeline to construct the two projects to January 2026. The main topic of debate on Tuesday was the usage of transient guest tax to fund the cities obligations towards the project.
Commissioners approved the plan by a vote of 3-1 with Linda Morse dissenting on the project.
Mayor Mark Hatesohl adamantly supported the plan.
Commissioner Wynn Butler supported the plan, but asked about other ways to fund the project without using the transient guest tax dollars.
Commissioner John Matta also supported the plan and also supported the usage of transient guest tax.
Overall, the project is expected to last until early 2026 with the recent approval by the city commission.
At Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners also received a presentation from the city’s Chamber of Commerce on economic development and promoting the city of Manhattan heading into 2024.
