CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston city leaders approved Monday night a financial plan that could fund several public infrastructure projects.

The city will join Charleston County and the Charleston County School District in a Tax Increment Financial District plan or TIF.

City Council's special called meeting during which council members voted 11-1 in favor of the TIF with one other member voting to abstain.

The vote included the passage of a pair of intergovernmental agreements with Charleston County and the Charleston County School District, the first of their kind in the city's history, city spokesperson Deja Knight McMillan said.

"These agreements will allow the county to acquire additional parking spaces, benefiting the county's financial outlook," she said.

Entering a TIF also allows the city to divert property tax revenue from private redevelopment projects to public infrastructure planning. This would include drainage, public park and water access points and resiliency, as well as the transformation of Union Pier.

The Charleston County School District will acquire the third floor of its headquarters building at 75 Calhoun St., which the city currently leases. That change will allow the district to consolidate its staff and save an estimated $14 million per year through eliminating the need for trailers as office space in North Charleston, McMillan said.

"By coming together as a community, we can achieve remarkable outcomes," Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said. "I am grateful to our partners in this effort and look forward to the positive changes that this project will bring to our beloved city. This is not the finish line, but the starting gun for a community-driven process that will lead to a Union Pier centered around the needs of residents of our great city."

The city believes the change will increase property value and generate higher tax revenue, which the pier does not currently bring in. Cogswell believes this could be an investment worth $2 billion and $47 million annually over a 30-year span.

The Union Pier is deteriorating, but leaders believe the TIF will allow resources to revive the space into a hub for the fast-growing peninsula.

"This is a long time coming, and an incredible once-in-a-generation opportunity for not just residents on the peninsula, but really the entire region," Cogswell said.

The city plans to collaborate with residents, advocacy groups, and the property owner to make "an incredible public space" at the site, McMillan said.