Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (COUNCIL), by Ordinance No. 1308-2016, passed June 6, 2016, authorized the City of Columbus (CITY) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the AGREEMENT) with Cleve Corp. and United Parcel Service, Inc. (together ENTERPRISE) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) years
in consideration of an approximate investment of $176,943,365, which includes approximately $43,155,760 in real property improvement costs, the retention of 748 full-time permanent positions at the project site, and the creation of 75 new full-time permanent positions with an associated new annual payroll of approximately $3,185,000 related to the expansion of its Columbus facility by adding approximately 348,196 square feet of additional warehouse distribution space onto its existing 408,343-square-foot facility located at 5101 Trabue Road Columbus, Ohio 43228 (parcel number: 560-205289), within the Hilliard City School District and within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone.
The AGREEMENT was provided shortly after passage of Ordinance No. 1308-2016, however, the ENTERPRISE failed to execute the AGREEMENT before the signature deadline identified in the Ordinance. In subsequent conversations, the ENTERPRISE affirmed its intention to fulfil the commitments outlined in the ordinance, as memorialized in the non-executed AGREEMENT, contingent upon the availability of the previously authorized tax abatement.
Additionally, it was found that Cleve Corp., a former real estate holding entity related to the site operator, United Parcel Service, Inc., was inaccurately recorded as the current property owner of 5101 Trabue Road Columbus, Ohio 43228 by the Franklin County Auditor’s office. Cleve Corp. was merged with and into BT-OH, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company related to United Parcel Service, Inc., in 1999. Franklin County Auditor records have since been updated to record BT-OH, LLC, the surviving entity...
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