Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (“COUNCIL”), by Ordinance No. 1651-2019, passed July 22, 2019, authorized the City of Columbus (“CITY”) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the “AGREEMENT”) with Montwards, LLC (hereinafter “ENTERPRISE”) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) consecutive years in consideration of a proposed investment of approximately $1.5 million in real property improvements (the “PROJECT”), and creation of four (4) net new full-time permanent positions with an annual payroll of approximately $124,800 related to the renovation of an existing vacant distribution and warehouse facility consisting of approximately 260,000 square feet on Parcel Number 010-190006 located at 525 N. Nelson Road, Columbus, OH 43219 (the “PROJECT SITE”), in Columbus, Ohio, within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone (Zone #023) and within the Columbus City School District. The AGREEMENT was made and entered into to be effective October 31, 2019 (EZA #023-19-11); the PROJECT was expected to begin December 2019, all real property improvements were expected to be completed by December 2021, with the term of the abatement not to commence after 2022 nor extend beyond 2031.
In a letter to the CITY dated April 30, 2020, ENTERPRISE indicated that the PROJECT as described in the AGREEMENT will no longer occur due to a change in the ENTERPRISE’s strategic development plans. With this strategic change, instead of two projects including new construction and a separate building renovation, the ENTERPRISE will still construct a new 300,000 square feet speculative distribution and warehouse facility with a corresponding parking surface to accommodate an anticipated large tenant under a separate agreement. With the PROJECT no longer moving forward as originally planned, there is a need to DISSOLVE this AGREEMENT between the CITY and ENTERPRISE related to the separate building renovation. It should be noted that no DTE-24 has b...
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