Explanation
Background: The 2022 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan, adopted by Resolution No. 0164X-2022, recommends: making downtown a “neighborhood for all” by: (1) identifying focus areas for growing downtown, (2) requiring and approving high density urban residential development, and (3) converting outdated office space into contributing housing to achieve 40,000 residents by 2040. 280 High Street, LLC (the “Developer”) and the Developer’s affiliate, 44 Chestnut, LLC, respectively own the 18-story office building at 280 N. High Street and the adjacent parking garage at 44 E. Chestnut Street (altogether, the “Project”). The Developer intends to convert the office building into a mixed-use building with a reduced square footage of renovated office and newly added apartments in place of some of the existing office. The Developer has requested the City to support and facilitate the redevelopment of the Project through tax increment financing. In order for Project’s parcels to be included in a tax increment financing area authorized under Section 5709.41, 5709.42 and 5709.43 of the Ohio Revised Code (collectively, the “TIF Statutes”), the City must be engaged in urban redevelopment and have previously held title to those parcels prior to City Council’s adoption of an ordinance pursuant to the TIF Statutes. This Ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Development, on behalf of the City, to accept title to certain parcels related to the Project, and it authorizes that Director to execute instruments to transfer those Project parcels back to the current owners. It is in the City's best interest that this Ordinance will waive the requirements of City Code Chapter 328 relating to the sale of city-owned real property, so that the parcels can be transferred as quickly as possible to allow for the creation of the tax increment financing area benefiting the Project. The Department of Development will submit subsequent legislation for City Council considerat...
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