Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik, left, and Council President/Mayor Donald Boerger, center, speak with Brad DeHays, founder and president of Connect Real Estate, Wednesday afternoon at the former Marysville Water Plant on North Main Street. Connect was recently awarded an $8-million tax credit to help repurpose the facility and redevelop the area by constructing a multi-use development in the city’s Uptown.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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State and local officials were in Marysville on Wednesday to tour a project site expected to change the face of the city’s Uptown.
On Wednesday, Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik along with city officials toured “The Silos at Marysville,” a proposed, multi-use project on North Main Street.
“This is a day to celebrate Marysville,” Mihalik said.
City Manager Terry Emery said the tour was important “to allow the director to see how the site is going to transform over the coming years.”
He said the state is helping to play a part in that transformation. Earlier this week, Mihalik and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the project had been awarded an $8-million tax credit to help assure it moves forward.
The Silos project will redevelop about 16.6 acres at the city’s former water treatment plant, the Heritage silo site and several other commercial properties on North Main Street. Officials have said the area needs help developing because it is currently “an underutilized, vacant brownfield site.”
The project proposal includes the construction of several multi-family buildings with about 250 to 300 apartments and a fitness center; corporate housing; restoration of the former Marysville Water Treatment Plant into 12,000 square feet of new office and hospitality space; public parking; a community arts area; construction of a 26,000 square foot mixed-use building with a restaurant, event space, bar-arcade and outdoor gathering areas; and “repurposing” the Heritage Grain Silos into 112,000 square feet of “inviting hospitality venues, outdoor gathering spaces and a versatile event destination.”
Officials said that while The Silos will not have a painted mural, there will be art projected onto them.
“You are going to bring people from outside the community here,” Mihalik said, adding that the project amenities will also bring Marysville residents into the Uptown district, creating economic benefit for other businesses.
The project is also slated to have a multi-use trail and a pedestrian bridge that connects to other city trails.
Officials have said they would like to see the project completed by 2030, if not earlier.
The developer, Connect Real Estate LLC, says it will invest about $100 million into the project which is expected to create about 260 permanent jobs.
Mihalik credited state officials working with “the incredible private sector” to make the project a reality.
The developer is also asking for a 30-year, 100% tax increment financing (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. Officials have said Connect is already working with the schools to agree on a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT).
In a release announcing the tax credit, DeWine said projects like The Silos “are creating dynamic spaces for Ohioans to live, work, and play.”
“With these investments, we are empowering communities to better themselves for the future and spur more economic growth in Ohio,” he said in the release.
The Silos was one of 15 projects, totaling $100 million in tax credits, around Ohio as part of the state’s Transformational Mixed-Use Development program.
“This isn’t about constructing large developments; it’s about building communities and fostering economic growth for a brighter future,” Mihalik said in announcing the program award. “Through this program, we recognize the impact of mixed-use developments to create vibrant and sustainable spaces that revitalize neighborhoods and enhance the quality of life for residents.”
According to officials from the Ohio Department of Development, the Transformational Mixed-Use Development program “awards a tax credit of up to 10% of estimated, eligible development costs for a project.
“The tax credits are used as a tax deduction (credit) to reduce the tax credit owner’s tax liability and are often sold to investors at a reduced rate to raise capital to help finance the construction of the project. If sold, the tax credits transfer to the investor(s),” According to information from the Ohio Department of Development.
Mihalik said the formula and execution is complex, but said the credit will provide “a lifetime of returns for this Marysville community.”
In January, Marysville City Council approved a development agreement with Connect Real Estate LLC. to develop the project. 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.
Emery said the agreement allows the developer to pursue options, but is not a final development plan. He reminded council that any actual development would still need to go through the normal development process.