Jill Schramm/MDN Properties in downtown Kenmare are included in a Renaissance Zone program that the city is reviving under a state law change. The program would provide tax incentives for investments into improvements.

KENMARE – The City of Kenmare is reviving its Renaissance Zone program to encourage investment in the community.

Kenmare’s previous Renaissance Zone expired in about 2016 due to lack of staff to stay on top of the paperwork and maintain the program in good standing with the State of North Dakota. Kenmare was among a number of smaller communities that fell into that situation, which prompted state legislators last year to amend the law and allow cities to revive expired Renaissance Zones, Kenmare City Council member Justin Patterson said.

“The general purpose of the Renaissance Zone is to help revitalize these small communities,” he said.

Although Kenmare has seen progress in the past several years with some new businesses, new office space and other building improvements, more can be done, and the Renaissance tax breaks can help spur that, Patterson said.

Qualifying investments might include purchases, rehabilitation, new construction, historical projects, leasehold improvements and public utility infrastructure.

“It does provide immediate tax relief for these new investments that are both residential and commercial,” Patterson said. Property and income tax breaks apply to improvements to a property for five years. The benefit to local taxing entities is a larger tax base when the tax relief expires.

“That’s the goal is to raise tax revenue in the long run,” Patterson said. “There’s really no reason not to do it, and there’s a lot of parts of our community that could really use a facelift.”

The council decided to restart a Renaissance Zone program at the suggestion of Doug Diedrichsen, then Ward County planning and land use administrator. The city contracted with Diedrichsen for professional assistance in writing a development plan. To apply for a Renaissance Zone through the state, a city must have adopted a comprehensive or strategic plan and created a development plan. The city also was required to obtain letters of support from the county and school district.

The city is in the process of setting up a Renaissance Committee to advise its program, Patterson said. A map has been developed that lists the maximum 34 blocks that a city of less than 5,000 population can include in a zone. The map covers Kenmare’s downtown square and Fifth Street, including commercial and residential properties.

So far, property owners are still educating themselves on the opportunities, Patterson said.

“Once it’s all in place, I really hope they grab hold of it,” he said.