Explanation
Background: The purpose of this ordinance is to declare improvements to certain parcels of real property in the vicinity of the Grange site, within the Brewery District area of Columbus, to be a public purpose to allow for the creation of a non-school Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district.
Grange Mutual Casualty Company ("Grange") needs to expand its corporate and administrative facilities to handle planned growth of 800 people over the next 20 years. Grange is considering sites in Central Ohio, including a site at its corporate headquarters, 650 S. Front Street (the "Columbus Site"), and a site in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Columbus Site requires the Construction of a 1,000 space structured parking garage at a cost of between $19,400,000 and $22,700,000. Structured parking is not required at any other site. Consequently, the cost of building at the Columbus Site will be approximately $20,000,000 higher than the other alternatives. In order to make the Columbus Site attractive, the City of Columbus ("Columbus") and the State of Ohio ("Ohio") need to provide appropriate economic development incentives.
The project (the "Project") will consist of: 1) a new approximately 200,000 square foot office building costing between $39,100,000 and $45,100,000; 2) a 1,000 car parking garage costing between $19,400,000 and $22,700,000; 3) the remodeling of the current office building costing between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000 and 4) the construction of $3.5 million of public infrastructure improvements.
The Project will permit Grange to assure the retention of 775 full-time and 36 part-time employees at its current location in the Brewery District. The retention of these employees results in $60,414,000 of payroll annually. An additional 60 employees will be transferred from Gahanna to Columbus and produce $3,481,000 in payroll annually. As stated in the company's Enterprise Zone application, during the 10-year incentive period the 262 new jobs created ...
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