Hopes are high for a new tax incentive program aimed at fostering large-scale industrial and commercial projects, Mayor Allan Fung said last week.

“I’ve very excited to have another business development tool … I have utilized it already as a tool for business pitches,” the mayor said, although he declined to be more specific.

The measure, approved on a 7-1 vote of the City Council in November, amends the “revenue and finance” section of the city’s code to create 15- and 20-year tax incentives for major development projects on industrial-zoned properties.

The new language provides a mechanism for projects to receive a phase-in of tax payments for construction, renovation, or purchase of a facility, or a combination thereof.

Projects valued at $12 million or more are eligible for a 15-year phase-in, beginning with 7 percent of value in the first year and 100 percent of value in the 15th year. Projects valued at $20 million or more qualify for a 20-year phase-in, which rises incrementally from 5 percent to 100 percent.

Final approval of the council would be required for incentives to be granted. The program applies only to facilities and improvements, not to the property on which they are sited. While it applies to industrial-zoned land, commercial projects on those properties are allowable.

The incentive, according to language included in the amendment, is designed “to attract new businesses to industrial zoned property within the City of Cranston, as well as to offer such a tax exemption to existing businesses as an incentive to expand, renovate, and improve facilities located on industrial zoned property within the City of Cranston, in an effort to retain, strengthen, expand and increase both the commercial tax base and the work force within the City.”

Robert Coupe, the city’s director of administration, spoke strongly in favor of the proposal before both the council and its Finance Committee.

“They’re intended to make us competitive with not only other states around the nation, but other cities around Rhode Island,” he said of the incentives. “The real goal here is to grow our city’s commercial tax base with large-scale projects … We can only win with this ordinance.”

Representatives of Tyco, which operates a research and testing facility on Elmwood Avenue, were also present during the committee and council consideration.

Roger Wilkins, director of Tyco’s Cranston facility, said the incentive program would provide certainty for businesses and transparency for officials and the public.

“It’s a win-win situation for those who want to invest,” he said.

When questioned by council members, Tyco officials said their support was not linked to a specific project planned by the company.

“We are here to support the concept that has been presented by the mayor,” said John Steele, senior director of state government relations for Tyco.

Multiple members of the council spoke highly of the incentive program.

“This will lay the groundwork for future businesses,” Citywide Councilman Michael Farina said.

Council President John Lanni called it a “no-brainer.”

“If they’re willing to invest in Cranston, give them the tax break. Plain English,” he said.

“I think this is something that could really vault the city to another level,” Ward 6 Councilman Michael Favicchio said.

Ward 1 Councilman Steven Stycos, who voted to recommend the measure on the committee level, was the sole vote against it during consideration by the full council. He said his concerns were rooted in the city’s economic development strategy, and the prospect of essentially giving away tax revenue for projects that would have proceeded regardless of the incentive.

At the time of the committee and council votes, and in response to questions from council members, Coupe said there were no specific projects linked to the new incentive program. He did say the administration had hopes for businesses that might seek to utilize it, but did not specify.

Speculation has focused on Citizens Bank, which is mulling the construction of a new corporate campus in Rhode Island once the lease at its current operations center on Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston expires in 2018.

The company – which will keep its corporate headquarters in Providence – has said it is considering multiple options, including renewal of its current lease.