Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (Council), by Ordinance 1726-2005, passed October 26, 2005, authorized the City of Columbus (City) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the Agreement) with Grange Mutual Casualty Company (Enterprise) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) years in consideration of investment of between $61,500,000 and $71,800,000 in real property improvements, up to $14,000,000 in personal property investment, the relocation and/or retention of 835 permanent full-time jobs and the creation of 262 full-time permanent jobs related to the renovation of an existing facility, the construction of an approximately 200,000 square foot facility along with the construction of a 1,000 space parking garage at the site of their corporate headquarters at 650 South Front Street, in Columbus, Ohio and within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone (Zone #023). Construction of the project was to begin July 1, 2006 and be completed by December 31, 2008. The Agreement was made and entered into to be effective November 11, 2005 (EZA #023-05-12).
The Agreement was subsequently authorized by Council to be amended for the first time to revise the scope of the project site and to extend the estimated completion date to December 31, 2009 by Ordinance 1143-2007, passed July 23, 2007; and that this Agreement was subsequently authorized by Council to be amended for the second time to remove any and all language pertaining to personal property investment and tax abatements related to this personal property investment from the Agreement by Ordinance 0614-2009, passed May 11, 2009.
The 2011 Columbus Tax Incentive Review Council reviewed the Grange Mutual Casualty Company Enterprise Zone project on August 18, 2011, and recommended that the Agreement be continued.
As per a letter dated November 11, 2011, Mark C. Russell, Vice President of Insurance Operations, indicated that due to the recent unprecedented economic dow...
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