DevelopOhio

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved $1 million in state job-creation tax credits for two projects in Northeast Ohio: a new distribution center for Haydon Corp. in Stow and an expansion of the Canton headquarters of Employers Health, the Cleveland Business Journal reports. New Jersey–based Haydon Corp., “which makes framing and baseboard systems such as metal framing, rooftop support and baseboard heating,” was awarded an eight-year tax credit worth up to $700,000, according to Ohio Department of Development spokesperson Megan Imwalle, the article reports. Employers Health, “a group purchasing organization for pharmacy benefits,” was approved for “a seven-year tax credit that could be worth $305,000.” Imwalle said the amounts are estimated values of potential tax credits “if all elements approved by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority are met.” For more, read the full article (subscription may be required).

Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) was “born out of a public-private partnership” with a goal to revitalize Downtown Cincinnati at a time when “the urban core was struggling,” with a languid Central Business District and an Over-the-Rhine that had “vacant, deteriorating buildings and public safety challenges,” Cincinnati.com reports. For the past 19 years, the nonprofit developer has “worked tirelessly to achieve that goal, partnering with the city” every step of the way, according to the article. The partnership, started by then-Mayor Charlie Luken and Cincinnati corporate community members, “has always been strong, stretching across administrations and city councils, mayors and city managers.” 

Its public-private model “is one that cities across the country envy”; many have asked how to replicate it. What distinguishes 3CDC is “our public-private partnerships and the commitment of our corporate community” including P&G, Kroger Co., Fifth Third Bank, GE Aviation, Western & Southern, Castellini Company, Duke Energy and many more. Another “key aspect of the partnership” is shared investment; 3CDC “has invested $647 million on patient capital into its projects, with the city, providing a total of $177 million to 3CDC in project-specific funding.” This capital, along with other funding sources, has allowed 3CDC to complete “$1.7 billion in development projects, representing nearly a 10:1 return on the city’s investment.” For more, read the full article (subscription required).

One Energy Enterprises, a Findlay-based wind turbine builder, “unveiled its first Megawatt Hub,” a “breakthrough” for emerging energy-intensive industries such as digital currency mining, mobile data centers, cathode and anode manufacturing, hydrogen production, electric fleet charging and indoor farming, The Courier reports. Chief Executive Officer Jereme Kent said, “[t]he range of applications for our Megawatt Hubs is remarkable. . . .Getting this scale of power at transmission voltages is complicated, and the lack of access to this power has been stifling these industries. We hope to enable acceleration of these emerging industries by taking power problems off the table.” The 30-megawatt site is expandable to 150 MW, powered by “the first fully digital, transmission-voltage substation in the United States”; it will feature “a charging pad for electric semi-trucks and large electric vehicles” that can charge up to 90 electric semi-trucks at the same time at its initial sizing. For more, read the full article.

Hamilton City Council has unanimously approved a development agreement with Dublin-based developer Crawford Hoying for a proposed $150 million mixed-use development across the Great Miami River from Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Crawford Hoying “plans to redevelop the former Cohen Recycling Site”; the development agreement “encompasses the property at 555 N. 3rd St. as well as 134 Hensel Place,” according to the article. The developer will receive “a $3 million forgivable loan from the city of Hamilton in exchange for purchasing and redeveloping the Cohen Recycling Site. For that loan to be forgiven, Crawford Hoying will need to complete $150 million of development at the site by 2036.” The project’s first phase includes “more than 100 apartments, townhomes, 5,000 square feet of commercial space, a premium-brand hotel and parking.” For more, read the full article.

The City of Ravenna and Rootstown Township “are looking to form a Joint Economic Development District [JEDD] that supporters say would raise money for the township and the district area while expanding development opportunities for the region,” the Record-Courier reports. Rootstown Township Trustee Dave McIntyre “said this proposal is unlike other JEDD agreements in the county because half of the proceeds would be earmarked specifically for improvements in the JEDD area,” according to the article. A board, including Ravenna and Rootstown residents and people who work within the JEDD area, “would make the final decisions about how those funds would be spent.” Ravenna would receive 10% of the proceeds for collecting the income tax, and the remaining 40% would go to the township. While “Ravenna’s share of the tax revenue would be minimal,” the city “would benefit from growth in the region, since city residents are likely to benefit from any growth that happens in Rootstown.” For more, read the full article.

The Ohio Department of Development recently announced the third round of its Transformational Mixed-Use Development [TMUD] Program, which provides tax credits for “major, mixed-use developments in Ohio,” The Business Journal reports. The tax credits “can be used to help finance new construction or improvement of vacant buildings”; developments “must include an influence on the economic and social well-being of the immediate site and surrounding area that will influence long-term change on the area,” according to the article. Eligible properties must include “at least two mixed uses — three if one is a parking structure,” while eligible costs include “land acquisition, building acquisition, demolition, site improvement and new construction of the site.” In the two prior rounds, the program “has awarded $200 million to 25 mixed-use development projects expected to result in more than $3.3 million in new payroll and $3.7 billion in investments across Ohio.” Applications are available on the program website and must be received by 4:00 p.m., September 8, for consideration. For more, read the full article.

General Motors (GM) will add about 1.1 million square feet to its plant in Brookville in a “$920 million investment in Duramax diesel engine production, quadrupling the size of the Campus Boulevard plant,” the Dayton Daily News reports. The future of GM’s original engine plant in Moraine after the expansion is unknown, but Mike Trevorrow, vice president, GM North America manufacturing, said, “I think the original plant with DMAX has a good, long future with us,” according to the article. After the expansion is complete, Moraine workers will be moved to Brookville, bringing that facility’s workforce to more than 800 employees. The Brookville investment “is GM’s third in Ohio in the last 10 months, the company said. The automaker has also announced investments at its Toledo Propulsion Systems plant and another investment in its Defiance plant, totaling $1.7 billion.” For more, read the full article.

Italian paper company Sofidel recently announced it will invest $185 million to expand its 1.8-million-square-foot plant just south of Circleville, The Columbus Dispatch reports. The facility has a mill “where pulp is transformed into paper and a converting plant that turns that into products such as toilet paper, paper towels and tissues,” according to the article. The planned 500,000-square foot addition “could add 100 jobs” to the 500 it currently has. Sofidel CEO Luigi Lazzareschi said in a statement, “[o]ur success has been Ohio’s success, and I appreciate the ongoing partnership with Pickaway County, the city of Circleville, One Columbus, and JobsOhio to help make it happen.” For more, read the full article.

Continental Real Estate Cos. “is under contract to buy about 3 acres” on Bexley’s Main Street from Capital University, the current site of the Trinity Lutheran Seminary Apartments, Columbus Business First reports. Frank Kass of Continental “is proposing a mixed-use project with 219 apartments, 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail and 12,000 square feet of office space” as well as “a parking structure with about 300 spaces” for the site between Bexley City Hall and Bexley Gateway, according to the article. Kass said the project “will be similar to what he’s doing in Upper Arlington at the Arlington Gateway and Kingsdale projects.” The sale is not yet closed, and the “project still has to go through processes with the city of Bexley to get plans and zoning approved.” Kass said he is “working with the city and schools to potentially get tax increment financing [TIF] to help build the parking garage.” For more, read the full article (subscription may be required). 

Buried deep in its 6,198 pages, Ohio’s recently enacted operating budget (Am. Sub. House Bill 33) authorizes the creation of a dual-track grant/tax credit program for near-exclusive use by land banks (both municipal and county types) for affordable housing development. We have previously shared that land banks – particularly county land bank-types – should consider taking their well-deserved seat at the economic development table. The Welcome Home Ohio Program catapults land banks into the role of executive chef, at least when affordable housing is on the menu. That said, the lengthy list of recipe ingredients that must be used to access this form of public financing may diminish the appetites of affordable housing market participants. For more read the full article.