Explanation
Background: This Council passed Ordinance 1732-2019 on July 22, 2019 to authorize the Director of Development to enter into an Economic Development Agreement (“EDA”) with Kaufman Development dba The Gravity Project 2, LLC and Columbus Housing Partnership, Inc., dba Homeport (herein after the “Development Team”). Pursuant to the EDA, the City and the Development Team desire for City Council to approve Tax Increment Financing (“TIF”) under Section 5709.410(B) of the Ohio Revised Code to pay for certain infrastructure improvements in support of the Gravity Phase II urban redevelopment project located between W. Broad St. on the north, W. State St. on the south, McDowell St. on the west, and the CSX railroad on the east and in support of the Homeport affordable housing project located on the former West Side Spiritualist Church at the northwest corner of McDowell St. and W. State St. (“Projects”).
In order to implement the Projects under the EDA, the attached ordinance will remove certain parcels from the existing East Franklinton TIF to establish a new non-school TIF area known as “Gravity Phase II” for the Projects and provide for a 100% exemption from real property taxation on all improvements to the parcels within the new TIF area for a period of not more than thirty (30) years. Annual service payments in lieu of taxes will be made with respect to improvements to the new TIF parcels. The applicable portion of those service payments will be distributed directly to the Columbus City School District, in the same manner as usual, in the amount that the school district would have received in real property taxes had the tax exemption not been granted. The remaining non-school portion of those service payments will be paid to the City for deposit into a new TIF fund established in this Ordinance to be used to fund infrastructure improvements benefiting the new TIF parcels.
Fiscal Impact: No funding is required for this legislation. The City is foregoing r...
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