ThisWeek CW 10/31/2013
Canal Winchester City Council is expected to vote Nov. 4 on a tax increment financing agreement that would cover developable land in the U.S. Route 33-Gender Road area.
If it is approved, they payoff could be a big one.
“There are 291 total acres, including the 28-acre track there just north of the railroad,” Development Director Lucas Haire said. “The Wyler Chevrolet project is included in this, as well as the Wendy’s redevelopment and the Walmart outlots.
“If we do this before the end of the year, it’ll capture about $6 million in improvements,” he said.
A TIF is an economic development mechanism available to local governments to finance public infrastructure improvements and, in certain circumstances, residential rehabilitation, according to the Ohio Department of Development.
A TIF works by locking in the taxable worth of real property at the value it holds at the time the authorizing legislation was approved, diverting the incremental revenue to the designated uses.
There are currently no specific projects in the works, Haire said, but by passing the new TIF legislation, he said he hopes the city will continue attracting businesses and growing the Gender Road corridor.
“This is a non-school TIF, so the schools will still be ‘made whole’ as if there wasn’t a TIF,” he said. “It will encompass the developable ground around Gender Road and Route 33, helping to extend utilities and roadways that need built, such as the possible extension of Winchester Boulevard.”
One development that is progressing, thanks to the sale of 2.7 acres of city-owned property at Canal Pointe Industrial Park, is the expansion of Cam Logistics LLC.
The company plans to move from its current location at 600 W. Waterloo St. to a new 10,000-square-foot warehouse facility and offices.
The city sold the land for about $125,000.
Haire said Cam Logistics’ move will primarily affect the business’ physical space, allowing it to move more freight.
“They anticipate hiring a few new employees but mostly, this is about getting them the room they need to grow by expanding their warehouse,” he said.
One setback for Canal Pointe was a recent 3-percent pass-through increase on water rates because of a rate increase for Pickerington water customers; Pickerington supplies water to the industrial park. Last year, Canal Winchester City Council approved a measure to lower water rates at Canal Pointe through a high-volume water rate agreement, but that, too, will be affected by the increase.
Canal Winchester City Council’s Nov. 4 meeting starts at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 10 N. High St.