Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (COUNCIL), by Ordinance No. 2252-2017, passed September 18, 2017, authorized the City of Columbus (CITY) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the AGREEMENT) with 93 OHRPT, LLC; Ronald Benderson 1995 Trust & Benderson 85-1 Trust dba Benderson Development Company (ENTERPRISE) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) years in consideration of an $8.032 million investment in real property improvements and the creation of twenty (20) new full-time permanent positions with an annual payroll of approximately $700,000 related to the construction of two separate speculative Class A light industrial/flex facilities totaling approximately 267,750 square feet at 6380-6492 and 6530 Tussing Road on parcel numbers 010-200001, 010-007362 and 010-238624 (the PROJECT SITE), in Columbus Ohio, within the Columbus City School District and within the Columbus Southeast Enterprise Zone. The AGREEMENT was made and entered into effective December 11, 2017 (EZA #392-17-01). The AGREEMENT stated that construction on the improvements (the PROJECT) was expected to begin Spring 2018 with all real property improvements expected to be completed by Summer 2019, and that no real property exemption was to commence after 2020 nor extend beyond 2029.
Due to delays in PROJECT commencement and based on the recommendations of the 2019 Columbus Tax Incentive Review Council (“TIRC”), the AGREEMENT was subsequently amended to state that the PROJECT was expected to begin March 2020, that all improvements were expected to be completed by December 31, 2020, that no real property exemption would commence after 2021 nor extend beyond 2030, and that the job creation timeline was adjusted accordingly.
The CITY reported the status of the PROJECT to the 2021 TIRC on August 20, 2021, in that per ENTERPRISE, the PROJECT had yet to begin per the amended timeframe and that ENTERPRISE had again requested that the AGREEMENT be amen...
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