A seven year tax deferral is being recommended by a Danbury City Council committee for a developer of the Kennedy Place Property.  At a meeting Tuesday night, Virginia-based Greystar Development proposed building 375 units of market rate apartments.  Mayor Mark Boughton says the city isn't spending any money by approving the deferral and isn't losing any because right now Danbury is not making money off the property.

After completion, the developer would pay about $300,000 annually in taxes even with the deferral.  Once the deferral is over, that figure could be around $2 million in taxes annually.  Boughton says the project could result in a $70 million investment in downtown. 

He says the company believes in what downtown could become and is interested in the spot because their footprint isn't that big in New England.

Boughton says construction could start in mid-spring and would last about 18 months. 

The property is being sold by BRT, which came under fire from several City Council members when they built the Crosby Street apartments using a tax break meant to bring people downtown and turned it into student housing for West Conn.  Boughton says that won't be the case with this development because there is no need or demand for student housing.  He says the developer feels strongly that the market conditions are right to fill the property.