West Fargo Public Schools approves 10-year tax exemption for COVE Living project

Sav Kelly / The Forum By Sav Kelly Today at 9:39 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? WEST FARGO — The West Fargo School Board unanimously approved a 10-year, 100% tax exemption for the COVE Living project on Monday, Nov. 9, though one board director noted her vote was "cautiously yes." The primary concern expressed by board supervisors was the length of the exemption for the Fargo project. While Director Jim Jonas said he feels 10 years is fairly standard, Board President Patti Stedman questioned how common it is for the School Board to approve 10-year exemptions. ADVERTISEMENT Heather Leas, the district's director of health, safety and public relations, pulled up previous records that indicate at least two 10-plus-year exemptions approved in the last few years for a senior living complex and corporate building. Vice President Trisha Page, who gave cautious approval, noted that 10 years is a long time when considering students are in the West Fargo Public Schools district for a total of 12 years. Because the Fargo City Commission approved a 10-year exemption, the school district and Cass County Commission are automatically included in the exemption for the first five years. The two groups separately decide whether to continue involvement for the remaining five years. The County Commission unanimously declined to participate in the second half of the exemption period. The exemption only applies to the COVE Living project and any new value added to the property because of it. The land will be taxed for its value, but nothing else, for the first 10 years. Contributed / City of Fargo Shannon Roers Jones, who gave a presentation on behalf of the Roers company responsible for the COVE project — including the residential and commercial components — explained last year's $22 million value of the property has been cut in half due to increasing vacancies. The complex will be located at 200 45th St. S. in Fargo, currently the site of the West 45th Business Center. The 2025 tax payment to the school district was $163,536, according to a document shared by Roers Jones with the board Monday. Work has begun on the existing commercial property, which will not receive any incentives and is expected to bring the school district an additional $133,890 in tax revenue per year when completed. ADVERTISEMENT The anticipated tax revenue for the residential space, after the 10-year exemption period, would be $395,000. "I'm excited for the whole project, because the building has been really empty for a long time," Stedman said. She asked whether the project would continue as planned if the school district denied the exemption. "The project that is under construction will continue, but we don't have a plan for moving forward with the apartment building without the incentive," Roers Jones said. Stedman feels that considering the decreasing value of the commercial property, and the possibility of the residential building not coming through, the school district will financially benefit more in the long run by approving the exemption. Also during the meeting: The board unanimously denied the contract release of a special education teacher, in part due to a lack of medical documentation justifying the teacher's request, but also because the special education department already has numerous vacant teaching positions. The board unanimously approved a contract release request without damages for an employee who does not need to be replaced and was hired through a grant. Staff presented 2025-2026 English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies performance results in the district. Results are available online under the monitoring reports section of the School Board page . Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags WEST FARGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS TAXES WEST FARGO By Sav Kelly Sav Kelly joined The Forum in June 2026. She reports on West Fargo, Horace and Harwood, as well as West Fargo Public Schools. Readers can reach Kelly at (701) 241-5530 or [email protected]. 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