In addition to the greenfields of the Morris and Miller farms, the Seward Road right-of-way and a contiguous portion of the Miami-to-Miami/Miami-Erie Canal Trail would be included in the TIF district.
“We didn’t think we’d see development so rapidly on them, but we’ve had so much industrial speculative development that we’ve got developers looking at these parcels,” said Nathaniel Kaelin, Fairfield Economic Development manager.
The city established the Northeast Area TIF District in November 2020 to create long-term funding that would assist with new development and redevelopment of underperforming properties in the Ohio 4 corridor and neighboring industrial areas in the northeast part of Fairfield.
Streetscaping, roadway improvements, and the acquisition and demolition of obsolete or blighted properties to facilitate new development would be considered long-term public improvements.
TIF districts are one economic development tool for the city’s Development Services Department that can provide direct assistance and tax incentives to projects.
The Fairfield Commerce Park development, which the developer Ambrose Property Group said would attract 600 to 1,000 jobs to the 137-acre business park, will receive reimbursement of up to $500,000 for public infrastructure improvements from the TIF district.
Tax incentives are just one part of the formula the city of Fairfield uses to attract business growth, said Development Services Director Greg Kathman. Other parts include the available and skilled workforce, transportation access, infrastructure, utilities, adequate sites and buildings, and business-friendly development processes.
“Economic development, as an industry, we’re competing with regions and cities all over the united states, all over the world, really,” Kathman said. “Even if you have great setups, even if you have all of that, other communities may have all of that as well, so sometimes you’re asked to give direct incentives, direct assistance to companies.”
In a perfect world, Kathman said it would be better for the city if they didn’t need to offer those tax credits, rebates, and incentives, “but we don’t live in a perfect world so we have to get involved directly with some projects.”
In November, City Council will consider its Town Center Community Reinvestment Area, or CRA, which can abate property taxes for a certain length of time. Fairfield rarely goes beyond a 75%, 10-year CRA, though legally, they can offer 100% abatements.
This will match a TIF district of a similar boundary, and Kaelin said this “gives us the ability in our Town Center to have TIF and CRA tools available if and when we need them.”
With any tax credit, rebate, or incentive agreement, there are annual reporting and reviews, and on occasion, companies fall short. An agreement may need to be amended or terminated, which is rare.
“But I think it’s important for the companies that are getting special treatment, we make them live up to the commitments that they make,” Kathman said.
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