§196-64.5 Commercial property assessed financing program. (a) There is established a commercial property assessed financing program to be administered by the authority to enable owners of qualifying property to access non-traditional financing for qualifying improvements. Program financing shall be secured by a voluntary assessment imposed on the benefitted property that is secured by a statutory lien; provided that the statutory lien shall have priority over all other liens except the liens for property taxes and other assessments lawfully imposed by a governmental authority against the property.
(b) In administering the commercial property assessed financing program, the authority may impose a governmental lien to secure commercial property assessed financing against real property specially benefitted pursuant to the program established by this section. Commercial property assessed financing shall be secured by the voluntary governmental lien and repaid in assessment installments in accordance with the commercial property assessed financing assessment contract and billed and collected by the authority. The principal amount of financing made pursuant to this section shall be a governmental lien against each lot or parcel of the property, or in the case of a condominium, a governmental lien against the condominium association, assessed for a period beginning on the date of the notice of the assessment and ending once payment is made in full or otherwise satisfied in accordance with the commercial property assessed financing assessment contract; provided that the lien shall have priority over all other liens except the liens for property taxes and other assessments lawfully imposed by governmental authority against the property; provided further that for multiple liens of assessments, the earlier lien shall have priority over the later lien. Neither the governmental lien nor the assessment for repayment on a benefitted commercial property pursuant to this section shall constitute a tax upon the real property within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory provision. The requirement of lender consent pursuant to subsection (c)(7) shall be satisfied for the priority of the lien to be valid.
(c) The authority shall design the commercial property assessed financing program authorized under this section to address market needs while attracting private capital; provided that the program, at minimum, shall include the following elements: