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Developing New Financing Products for Great Lakes Ecosystem Restoration

Year Awarded: 2006
Awarded: $593,000
Team Leader:  Northeast-Midwest Institute
Tel: 202-464-4004
Email: epaull@nemw.org

This team explored financial options including tax increment financing (TIF) and regional bond vehicles to support restoration efforts in the Great Lakes region. Team members and Buffalo, NY officials discussed two potential models: one linked to a planned Bass Pro shop development; and the other linked to a long, linear TIF district that would follow the Buffalo River. The Northeast Midwest Institute convened a high-level listening session in Washington, D.C. with pertinent Congressional staffers, environmental finance experts and others, to address opportunities to move forward—perhaps legislatively—with the most promising and innovative financing mechanisms to support the improvement of the health of the Great Lakes.