The Tiverton Industrial Park could add big business dollars to the property tax rolls if the town chooses to invest millions in the property. Is it worth it?

During Monday night's Tiverton Town Council meeting Marcel Valois of the Economic Development Foundation discussed the town's options in developing the 177-acre industrial park that sits between Route 24 and Fish Road.

Ranging from zero to $9 million dollars, planning is in its infant stages, but the Valois said the town should choose a path in order to start securing grants this year. He said the return on the investment for the project could be in excess of 10 years.

"You are going to have to put some kind of investment into that property in order get it to the point where it is ready to sell," said Valois.

The original engineering designs for the project included small 40,000 square foot lots connected with a road network and town sewers at a price tag of about $9 million.

After analyzing the plans, the Economic Development Foundation developed option No. 2. For a $3.5 million to $4 million investment in road and sewer infrastructure, the town could lay the appropriate groundwork to attract serious commercial investors and defer costs to the private sector.

In a third option not recommended by Valois, the town could sell the parcel as is to a private investor. Valois said this option would probably garner low interest and low offers.

Development of the industrial park could attract private business and add value to Tiverton's tax rolls. Currently, residential properties account for more 93 percent of the roll, leaving homeowners to bear the brunt of costs in town.