Explanation
BACKGROUND: The need exists to amend Ordinance Number 0795-2008. Columbus City Council approved the ordinance on May 12, 2008. The ordinance authorized the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a Job Creation Tax Credit Agreement of sixty-five percent (65%) for a period of eight (8) years and a Jobs Growth Incentive Agreement of twenty-five percent (25%) for a period of five (5) years with Express, LLC and Express Holding, LLC. An amendment is now required to add the following affiliates of Express as grantees in the Agreements: Express Topco, LLC and Express Parent, LLC. Henceforth, all four entities will collectively be referred to herein as "Express".
Express, founded in 1980, is one of the 10 largest specialty retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Express started as a subsidiary of Limited Brands, Inc., starting with one store in Chicago, Illinois known as the Limited Express. The company presently has 620 retail operations and over 20,000 associates nationally. In July 2007, the company was purchased by Golden Gate Capital, which is a private equity firm based in San Francisco, California. Today, although under new management, Express continues to operate under its original name and maintains its reputation as a premium brand through innovative designs, competitive prices and consistent quality.
In order to successfully segregate Express operations from Limited Brands Inc., the company developed a comprehensive transition strategy that incorporates establishing a corporate headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. The headquarters will occupy approximately 200,000 square feet of the 1.2 million square feet of space leased from Limited Brands.
Express is proposing to invest approximately $7.9 million to renovate and expand its corporate headquarters located at 1 Limited Parkway Columbus, Ohio. The company will retain 368 full-time permanent employees and create 120 new full-time permanent positi...
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