AUBURN – The aging Auburn Mall could get a $25 million face-lift under a city tax benefit plan.

Developer George Schott would spend roughly $12 million refurbishing the mall interior and the rest developing adjacent shopping sites.

The city would return $3.3 million of the property taxes paid by the mall, and earmark another $9 million for road work, sidewalks and other capital projects under a plan presented to city councilors Monday night.

The council is scheduled to vote on the new tax increment finance district for the Auburn Mall at its Oct. 30 meeting. Economic Development Director Roland Miller said he hopes to have the TIF district paperwork written and ready for the council’s vote by the end of this week.

“This is all going to move very quickly,” he said.

Monday was the council’s first look at the plan. The project is developer George Schott’s attempt to breathe vitality into decaying mall, Miller said.

“We know what the Auburn Mall has been,” Miller said. “We know what it has become and we are looking for ways for it to recognize its potential through redevelopment.”

Schott plans a full renovation of the existing 300,000-square-foot mall. He also plans to develop another 130,000 square feet around the mall. That includes parking areas between the mall and Mount Auburn Avenue and the open lots north of the mall, between Shaw’s and Turner Street.

Auburn would return $3.3 million in new property taxes to Schott over the next 15 years. That would pay for part of the interior renovation of the mall, as well as road improvements around the site.

Under Miller’s plan, the city would continue getting $6.3 million over 20 years in property tax revenues for general fund spending. That amounts to property taxes the city now receives for the Auburn Mall.

The city would get another $9.1 million in TIF revenues through 2027 that could be earmarked for other projects. Those could include road work along Turner, Park and Center streets, sewer main improvements as well as a study of Auburn’s retail potential. Miller said that study would help bring new, high quality retail stores to the refurbished mall.