Explanation
Background: The purpose of this ordinance is to authorize the Director of Development to enter into an Memorandum of Understanding (the “MOU”) with The Ohio State University (“OSU”), and/or other OSU affiliated entities (collectively, the “University”). The MOU will outline the plans and certain commitments of the City and the University relating to the major expansion of OSU’s west campus between Kenny Road to the east, North Star Road to the west, Lane Avenue to the north, and the southern boundary of the parcels south of Kinnear Road within the City between Kenny Road and North Star Road (the “Innovation District”). This innovation collaborative will be accomplished through a $3 to $4 billion capital investment of new infrastructure; 1,500 to 2,000 residential units; 100,000 to 200,000 square feet of retail; a 180 to 220-bed hotel; up to 500,000 square feet of medical; and 4 to 6 million square feet of lab and commercial office space over a period of twenty to thirty years. Of the more than $700 million currently in construction, the anchor of the Innovation District is the estimated $237.5 million Interdisciplinary Research Facility (IRF) that will house 305,000 square feet of space for a proposed five-story laboratory building, and adjacent to the IRF will be the estimated $47.1 million, four-floor Energy Advancement and Innovation Center. The Innovation District will increase opportunities for not only OSU but also other individuals, students, researchers, leaders, nonprofits, Fortune 500 businesses, and startups keen on innovation in order to meet the increased growth of workforce in City and throughout Ohio needed around innovation fields.
In consideration of the City’s economic development incentive commitments in the MOU, the University will commit to create up to 12,000 jobs with an estimated payroll of up to $950 million annually, and provide a capital investment of $3 - $4 billion dollars, in new infrastructure, at full build out of the ...
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