Rossford approves incentives for likely Amazon center
Rossford City Council unanimously approved a series of incentive packages Monday night for a massive development experts have long believed to be an Amazon fulfillment center at the Crossroads.
The four ordinances:
- State the city of Rossford and Wood County agree to grant abatement of real estate taxes on the project’s assessed value for 30 years.
- Establish a tax increment finance (TIF) district.
- Call for Rossford Schools to receive 100 percent of the tax revenue it would have received in the form of payments from the development.
- Allows the city to take $130,000 from an existing TIF and transfer it to the developer to assist with unexpected sewer costs.
City attorney Gary Sommer drafted the language.
“It is very standard for a development of this nature,” he said. “There’s been a lot of paperwork and lawyer work, but at the end of the day, this allows for this kind of development.”
Mayor Neil MacKinnon said it’s a deal where “everybody wins.”
City officials and Duke Realty representatives have been mum on the identity of the tenant moving into the 100-acre lot just east of I-75 and north of U.S. 20. However, industry experts told The Blade last year it’s likely the retail giant is coming to Rossford. Amazon is Duke Realty’s largest customer, representing about 6 percent of the firm’s portfolio.
The planning commission approved the final site plan last month. The fulfillment center will be 85 feet tall and occupy 700,000 square feet. The total footprint with all four stories included will be 2.8 million square feet.
Plans also call for 1,800 parking spaces and 300 truck bays. A sound wall will be built on the north end of the facility where trucks will operate. Entrances will be located at Compass Drive and Crossroads Parkway, and the site will include a fence and guard shack.
Several variances were approved last month, including permission to erect the eight-foot-tall chain-link fence and 16-foot-tall sound barrier.
Rossford zoning inspector Mark Zuchowski previously told The Blade construction could start this year.
The Rossford board of education approved its own set of ordinances related to the project earlier this month. The schools believe they will receive approximately $579,000 a year for 15 years as part of an enterprise zone agreement.
The Wood County Commissioners will vote on similar ordinances Tuesday morning.
In other business, city council voted 5-1 to settle a lawsuit between the city and school district. Councilman Bob Densic, whose wife Tiffany sits on the school board, abstained.
The district sued the city in April, 2018, in Wood County Court of Common Pleas. In March of last year, former City Administrator Mike Scott outlined several areas of concern related to the school district’s plans for the new Glenwood Elementary. The city asked the schools to install sidewalks and curbing on Lime City Road, add a turn lane, and make improvements to the intersection of Lime City and State Rt. 795.
The schools refused for months, but Mr. MacKinnon and Superintendent Dan Creps said the district has since agreed to perform the work. Mr. Creps said the district will pay a certain amount of the cost and the city will arrange for the work to be completed.
Additionally, the city agreed to waive half of the $12,000 the schools owe in engineering fees. The settlement will also call for the city to take ownership of the Indian Hills and Eagle Point Elementary properties once vacated by the district. Mr. Creps previously told The Blade the city is better equipped to manage the land.
Posted By: The Toledo Blade on June 24, 2019. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
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