Explanation
Background: The goal of a Downtown Redevelopment District is promoting rehabilitation of historic buildings, creating jobs, and encouraging economic development in commercial and mixed-use commercial and residential areas, and for the purpose of funding transportation improvements that will benefit such areas.
An Innovation District is an area located entirely within a downtown redevelopment district, and equipped with a high-speed broadband network capable of download speeds of at least one hundred gigabits per second. The goal of the district is to attract and facilitate growth of qualified businesses and supporting the economic development efforts of business incubators and accelerators.
The Department of Development is proposing the establishment of a Downtown Redevelopment District (“DRD”) and Innovation District (“ID”) area pursuant to Section 5709.45 of the Ohio Revised Code in the area of the Columbus Electric Trolley Barn located at 1600 Oak St., south of the Franklin Park Conservatory. The attached Ordinance establishes the DRD and provides for a 70% exemption from real property taxation on all development on the DRD parcels for a period of not more than thirty (30) years.
Annual service payments in lieu of taxes will be made with respect to new private development on the DRD parcels. The service payments will be paid to the City for deposit into the municipal downtown redevelopment district fund (“DRD Fund”) established in the Ordinance to be used to provide funds for loans, improvements and other authorized activities benefiting the DRD and ID Parcels.
To achieve the addressed goals an Economic Development Plan will be put into place. The plan will require the Trolley Barn LLC to satisfy community needs using the DRD fund. The community needs are to increase neighborhood’s food access, quality of life and choices. Improving their quality of life Trolley Barn will provide opportunities to better the neighborhood’s health, combat un...
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