Value capture: The Vancouver example

The Vancouver Sun (Shore, 03/19/2008) reports that Metro Vancouver's Transportation Authority is launching a real estate division that could produce up to $1.5 billion in revenue over the next 10 years, modeled on an agency that has reshaped Hong Kong. Under the plan, enabled by a 10-week-old provincial legislation, TransLink will purchase land along new rapid transit routes and around stations and ramp up the value of the land through denser zoning and partnerships with land developers to create high-density commercial and residential developments.

To fund infrastructure improvements, "value capture" may be done in three broad ways: tax-based approaches such as special assessments or split-rate property taxes, fee-based approaches such as development impact fees, or direct value capture through "getting involved to a greater degree in real estate development," such as the Vancouver example above.

(Thanks Bob for suggesting this case.)