Renaissance Pointe development in limbo due to delay of $12.5M in funding

The $12.5 million is not in addition to a previously approved $10 million from Warren County Commissions to an economic development fund that could be utilized for the Event Center project, according to Warren County Port Authority executive director and Warren County director of development Matt Schnipke.

Rather, the request is for the county to make available proceeds out of the now established $10 million fund to pay debt service on only a portion of the bonds submitted for the project — in this case, $12.5 million.

“This would happen if and only if the project doesn’t perform as forecast,” Schnipke said. “In a perfect scenario, the project will perform as anticipated and the funding would not leave the county at all because revenue would be sufficient to pay all of debt service on the bonds. Just having the guarantee in place at all helps with security and drives interest rates down.”

At the Feb. 17 commissioners work session, the contribution was discussed with representatives from the city of Middletown, Warren County Port Authority, the United States Hockey League — which wishes to place a team at the planned Event Center — and other stakeholders in attendance.

Warren County Commissioner David Young was not at the meeting, and Commissioner Tom Grossmann said additional discussion and the decision would be pushed to the March 3 work session when all commissioners could be present.

But the decision was not made and still hasn’t been made “one way or the other,” according to Schnipke.

“The port is working with our project team to be ready to respond as fast and aggressively as possible when a final decision is made to try to meet necessary timelines,” he told Journal-News. “We have to be respectful of the commissioners’ timeline and will take our next steps once they have deliberated.”

The commissioners meet weekly on Tuesday mornings, and the funding has not been placed on an agenda since the March 3 work session.

Commissioners Shannon Jones, Grossmann and Young and County Administrator Martin Russell did not respond to requests for comment from Journal-News regarding the contribution and when the decision might be made.

Schnipke said county staff “believes the topic will be back in front of the (commissioners) again shortly.”

Middletown city officials did not have comment on the commissioners’ decision or lack thereof and what the delay in funding might mean for the project’s status.

Renaissance Pointe, a $200 million project which broke ground in June 2024, is the culmination of five years of planning between the city of Middletown, Warren County Port Authority and Woodard Development, according to Schulte.

Middletown has since acquired the site of 50-plus acres on the east side of the city along Interstate 75 and Ohio 122 and Union Road. Phase 1 of the project, which included construction of infrastructure, surrounding outparcels and access roads to the planned multi-purpose event center, has been completed.

In total, more than $18.9 million has been invested into the project by Middletown, according to Schulte, between site acquisition and infrastructure improvements.

The USHL, which has plans to place a team at the Event Center, is an amateur athlete development league and is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. It has 16 teams in two conferences in Midwest and Great Plains states, including the Youngstown Phantoms in Ohio, with players between the ages of 16 and 20.

The Event Center will have three multipurpose pads with one acting as a more traditional arena seating approximately 3,500 for ice sports, basketball, volleyball, concerts and/or graduation ceremonies.

Key stakeholders would like construction on the center to be completed for the 2027-28 season, which would begin in September 2027.

Dave Dickerson of Miller Valentine Construction said in the Feb. 17 meeting that getting started as quickly as possible is “fairly critical” to meet that timeframe. Construction will take 18-24 months.

Andrew Brossart of Bradley Payne Advisors said all documents relative to the bond are ready for finalization and delaying the decision by 30 days would have a “significant impact” on the outcome of the project.

Earlier in the Feb. 17 meeting, commissioners pledged $10 million to an economic development fund as a way to allow the county’s “strong financial position” to assist projects with credit support to secure financing and move progress forward. The resolution also pledged the county’s gross casino revenue tax to the fund.

The casino revenue fund would only be contributed if there is a hit to the $10 million in the fund and it needs replenished, according to Schnipke. If there is no hit to the $10 million fund, the casino revenue would not be impacted.

“The intent would be that the money is never explicitly tapped and sent out the door, that it’s just provided as a credit enhancement,” Schnipke said.

The Event Center is one of the community projects that could potentially utilize the $10 million economic development fund.

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

The project could bring in an estimated $1.3 billion in sales and lodging tax over a 30-year term, according to Schnipke.

The Warren County Port Authority will own the Event Center, and Woodard Development is privately developing the surrounding areas.

Todd Duplain of Woodard Development said without the Event Center, planned private developments will be ”successful,” but it would “look like virtually any other mixed-use development that we see up and down I-75.”

“Nothing wrong with those, but with this kind of draw, we will be able to attract ... a much better type of user and experience for the city, Warren County and southwest Ohio,” he said.

The Event Center is estimated to attract more than 400,000 visitors each year, according to Schnipke.

Three funding buckets will be used by Warren County Port Authority to fund the project:

Additional revenue sources include a 2% food and beverage surcharge, 3% hotel surcharge and a 5-mill New Community Authority property tax charge for the project area to cover debt services, according to Brossart.