Hamilton County puts new bonding authority to work

At least four Hamilton County economic development projects will get under way with the help of $22.9 million in tax-exempt financing recently authorized under the federal economic stimulus bill.

Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act authorizes cities and counties to allocate tax-exempt bonds to finance projects in “recovery zones.”  Called Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, this new type of financing allows for tax-exempt bonds to be issued for projects that retain or create jobs and that increase the County sales tax.

The bonds are intended to benefit for-profit businesses and in some cases, non-profit organizations. They may be used to assist commercial, retail or manufacturing businesses.

In Hamilton County, these four projects have applied and been allocated financing:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s new regional office in Sycamore Township, a $45 million project that will re-use the site of a former hotel and retain 160 jobs in the County. It received a $5 million allocation for RZFB financing.
• The redevelopment of the Greenhills Shopping Center, a $4.5 million project that will improve the focal point of the central Hamilton County community and add 160 new jobs. It was allocated $4.5 million in RZFB financing.
• The Ridge Point office and retail complex in Columbia Township, a $10.5 million project that will re-use and adapt a vacant, blighted retail structure and create a projected 300 new jobs. The project was allocated RZFB financing of $3.975 million.
• Relocate and expand the outpatient surgery facility and practice of The Urology Group in Norwood, one of the largest urology practices in the nation. The $15 million project will retain 114 jobs and create 20 jobs and was allocated $9.47 million in RZFB financing.

Although Hamilton County has allocated its portion of the bonding authority, it is considering seeking authority for additional financing from the state of Ohio. Nationwide, $15 billion in bond-issuing authority is available, with $633 million available to Ohio.

The Recovery Zone Facility Bonds program is another economic development tool managed by the Economic Development Office of the Hamilton County Development Co. to encourage growth and job creation.

For more information on the program, please contact Barry Strum at 513-631-8292 or by e-mail at bstrum@hcdc.com