Connect Real Estate LLC offered a first look at plans for redevelopment of the north end of Marysville’s Uptown on and around the former water treatment plant and the Heritage silo sites. “The Silos at Marysville” would include 250-300 “affordable” apartments on the west side of Main Street as well as corporate and co-working areas, public parking, a community arts area, recreational areas and a variety of restaurants and bars. Above, Connect outlined plans for where features would be located. At right, Connect included a variety of pictures and renderings for the retail and mixed use, apartments and rock climbing feature and co-working space for the development.
(Photos submitted)
—
Leaders from a Columbus-based development firm were at Marysville City Council’s meeting Monday looking for an agreement to move forward with developing more than 16 acres in the city’s north end.
Council heard the first reading of legislation to execute a development agreement with Connect Real Estate LLC that would allow the company to be able to move forward with plans for the area around the city’s former water treatment plant, the Heritage silo site and several other commercial properties.
Connect has said it plans to build a $100-millon development, titled “The Silos at Marysville,” on the 16.6 acres. The development is set to include 250 to 300 apartments, corporate housing entertainment sites, a co-working area, a fitness center, public parking, a community arts area, a restaurant and bar and what the developer terms as “high end hospitality.” Officials said that while the silos will not have a painted mural, there will be art projected onto them.
Officials have said they would like to see the project completed by 2030, if not earlier.
Bob Lamb, senior vice president of development at Connect Real Estate, called the development agreement “the first step in the process.”
A development agreement is a legally binding contract between a local government and a property owner or developer. The agreements grant both parties responsibilities and protections. They can outline financial incentives, specify land use and include any special provisions. Development agreements are especially useful for long-term, large-scale projects, ensuring that rules don’t change during the project process.
Lamb said that while the agreement will offer the developer some assurance the city will work with them, any project specifics will still need approval by the planning commission, board of zoning appeals, design review board or council.
He said the city land that will be donated to the developer “is not an asset.” He said the land is currently in a flood plain and needs to be cleaned because of prior uses. He said once the redevelopment is complete it will look similar to several other projects the company has worked on, including The Trolley District, which has been redeveloped into the East Market in Columbus’ Old Town East or the Municipal Light Plant on Nationwide Boulevard in Columbus.
Earlier this year, city council toured the Trolley District to learn about Connect and possibilities for the site.
Connect has said it will use a variety of federal and state grant and tax assistance programs to make the project financially feasible. City Manager Terry Emery said Connect’s history working with historic buildings and using the federal and state programs make it one of the few companies that would take a project like this.
“There is not a lot of companies that are interested in taking on these sites because of some of the things that come with them,” Emery said.
The developer is also asking for a 30-year, 100% tax increment finance (TIF) agreement that would divert tax money voted on for schools, libraries and other public uses to repay the developer for upfront improvements it will make to the area. Lamb said Connect is already working with the schools to agree on a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT).
Council president Henk Berbee said the TIF troubles him some.
“TIF, in Marysville, gives some people the shivers,” he said.
Berbee said he has read the agreement three times and still has some questions.
Council member Deb Groat, who was defeated in the elections earlier this year, said she would feel more comfortable tabling the agreement until after the new year so the new council members can make the decision.
“I do not want a decision of over $100 million private-public investment to be placed on a lame duck council,” Groat said.
Lamb said he respects the concern, but restated that no final decisions are being made with the agreement. He said Connect has been working on the project for more than a year “in good faith.” He said the company has a timeline it wants to make.
“The approval of the development agreement in December opens up our ability internally to be able to go forward with our architects, engineers and our legal team to get these final documents put together so they can come back in front of the new council for a vote,” Lamb said. “The item, for us, as we pursued this for a year now, we spent money on it, we have carried it forward. We are not in a spot where we want to continue to do that without knowing there is a certain control over the property.”
He said that for Connect to move forward without any actual control over the property “is a significant concern for us.”
He said that if the agreement is approved, but the project falls through in the future, the property will revert back to the city, “and only time will be spent.”
Lamb said that without assurances that come with approval of the development agreement, Connect would stop working on the project.
Seymour said he knows the new council members oppose annexation and growth but does not believe they are opposed to Uptown improvements.
Council member J.R. Rausch said council members were elected to serve until Dec. 31, not to cede decisions to the next council.
Emery said Connect has expressed interested in meeting with the newly elected council members, all of which were in attendance at the meeting.
“There is going to be no interest to blindside the new council members,” Emery said, adding that he would like to have the new council members also tour the Trolley District project.
Council member Alan Seymour called the project “an amazing opportunity for our Uptown to clean up a blighted area.”
He said he specifically appreciates the company’s willingness to focus on the Mill Creek “to enhance it and make it a showcase.”
“We really want to take that waterfront and make it a destination,” Lamb said.
He said the project will include a variety of park-like features along the waterfront areas as well as a pedestrian bridge across Mill Creek and the extension or connection of trails.
Council member Donald Boerger said the project needs to be done and is “a way better use than a swimming pool.”
Berbee said he believes everyone agrees the project is needed and would be a welcome addition to the Uptown.
“I think we all want it, but what we have to ask ourselves is can we afford it,” Berbee said.
Lamb said that without the Connect redevelopment, the properties would likely not reach their full potential and some could sit vacant for some time.
“Can the city afford not to do it?” Lamb asked. “These are not properties that are easy to turn around.”
Berbee said the project will have a public comment period at the Dec. 11 council meeting with the final reading, scheduled for Dec. 18.