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).

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.

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). 

Covington, Kentucky–based development firm Corporex recently celebrated the progress of its long-term riverfront commercial and residential project by placing a time capsule and holding a ribbon cutting ceremony for a completed pedestrian bridge, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. Corporex “has invested $250 million so far out of the projected $1 billion sum needed” to complete the Ovation project on “the shore where the Licking and Ohio rivers meet,” according to the article. Ovation will “see the development of a variety of outdoor excursions and properties across its 25-acre site,” including “a concert venue, restaurants, office space, condominiums and apartments, a hotel and various entertainment sites.” Corporex Chief Real Estate Officer Tom Banta said the project “is centered around being a multifaceted development,” with “diverse building types and transportation methods.” Corporex Chairman Bill Butler said the project would not have been possible with tax increment financing (TIF) policies. For more, read the full article (subscription may be required). 

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority board recently approved bond issuances that will provide “about $3 million in upfront cash” for the 16-story mixed-use Bridgeworks tower in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, Crain’s Cleveland reports. The bond issuances “will allow the developers to save about $2.3 million in sales taxes on construction materials,” according to the article. The port “agreed to issue $4.13 million in taxable revenue bonds through its bond fund” that will be offered on the open market. The bonds are “tied to a tax-increment financing (TIF) arrangement, a 30-year structure that will redirect a portion of the new property-tax revenues generated by the development to paying off project costs.” Bridgeworks will include 140 apartments, 70 of which will be income-restricted “workforce housing,” a restaurant, a 130-room Motto by Hilton hotel, lower-level retail and structured parking. For more, read the full article (subscription may be required).

City officials in Kettering say creating a new Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) could spur economic development in an area on the city’s northeast end that includes about “900 homes and Miami Valley Research Park [MVRP] vacant land” by offering “long-term tax breaks” for improvements to properties, the Dayton Daily News reports. A state-required housing study says the area “includes ‘several properties with blighting influences’ in neighborhoods conceived during World War II that have lacked significant reinvestment,” according to the article. The CRA would provide 75% tax exemptions for 10, 12 or 15 years depending on the amount invested and types of properties improved. City Manager Matt Greeson said Kettering is trying to create a tool that would help residents in the area improve their properties and also “incentivize high-quality, market-rate apartments.” Cleveland-based Industrial Commercial Properties (ICP) owns about 50 acres at MVRP and “has expressed strong interest in building a 300-unit apartment complex” there. City Economic Development Manager Amy Schrimpf said she expects ICP to submit plans soon after a CRA is approved by the city. For more, read the full article.

Jersey Township Trustees recently unanimously approved the creation of a community reinvestment area (CRA) to ensure “they will have a say on any potential future tax abatements within the township,” the Newark Advocate reports. Township Administrator Rob Platte said “the action of creating the CRA does not approve any abatements at this time” but means “the township’s approval would be required for any future abatements,” according to the article. The township “wants to make sure it has a say in any future abatements” because it previously approved tax increment financing districts (TIFs) that allow it “to direct a portion of the new property tax toward infrastructure improvements” on new development within the TIF area. The CRA allows the township to “negotiate how much is abated or completely deny an abatement, allowing the township to have a say in how much taxes are collected for improvements.” The program also “sets up targets that businesses have to hit,” such as number of people they employ, to receive abatements. For more, read the full article. 

If you were living your life fully in late December 2022, you can be excused for having missed a big deal in the world of the American Rescue Plan Act. Your “B-sides” authors, however, grew excited at the prospect of new eligible funding categories (i.e., additional buckets of use) for recipients’ ARPA allocations. For more, read the full article.

Capital University is seeking to sell about a 3-acre site on Bexley’s Main Street, creating a rare opportunity in the land-locked Columbus suburb, one “that could translate to more affordable housing” in the community, Columbus Business First reports. Capital is selling the apartment property because the units are no longer needed and “would take about $10 million to renovate,” according to the article. Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler “said he personally would like to see a mixed-use, mixed-income development be built on the site” between Bexley City Hall and the Bexley Gateway shops, and that the city is “open to working with a developer on incentives to make the development happen.” Bexley’s Main Street “currently has a community reinvestment area, or CRA,” to provide tax abatements for developers; the “base incentive is a 15-year, 70% abatement, Kessler said, but if the average development cost per unit is less than $150,000, the abatement would be 100% for 10 years.” Kessler said the incentive was “an early take on an affordable housing incentive. . . . for building housing for a greater swath of the population.” For more, read the full article (subscription may be required).

Federal energy policy is making many new incentives available for local governments to fund energy-related assets. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in 2022, established a set of energy-related asset categories that are now being directly subsidized by the federal government. Under the IRA, nearly any advanced or renewable energy asset constructed by a local government is eligible for some kind of federal cash subsidy. For more, read the full article.