MOUNT VERNON — A new price tag for the re-visioning of 18 E. Vine St. has led the Knox County Land Bank to revise its plans.
Sam Filkins, land bank vice president, said the current quote is $1.3 million higher than the original estimated cost of $6.5 million.
“The project does not make sense at that price,” he told land bank board members at their Aug. 12 meeting.
In addition to a facade facelift and reconfiguring the first floor for four retail tenants, the original plans called for adding a second story with 12 residential units opening onto a courtyard.
“They are wanting us to go without the condos. That will take $3 million to $4 million off the whole project and makes the price doable,” Filkins said. “We are just pivoting because prices are so high.”
Filkins said the revised plan is just as good or better, noting that it opens up more possibilities for first-floor tenants. For example, a restaurant can now go on the first floor, whereas before exhaust ductwork would have been difficult to incorporate with condos on the top floor.
Filkins expects to have new cost numbers by the end of this week.
“It will not negatively impact our grant. In fact, it might increase our chances because we might not have to ask for the full $2 million,” he said.
The land bank plans to apply for a Vibrant Community Grant through Jobs Ohio. The grant is designed specifically for rural county seats in Ohio.
Revised plans also enable the land bank to apply for a PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) loan for the project. PACE loans pay 65% of construction costs for clean energy projects. Property owners repay the loan over a set time period.
To access PACE funding, the land bank has to create an ESID (Energy Special Improvement District). ESIDs work similar to CRAs (Community Reinvestment Area). First-floor tenants will receive a tax abatement and will use their tax savings to pay off the PACE loan.
Mount Vernon City Council has to approve the ESID.
“PACE has been on our radar for quite a while, but you need a project to jump-start it,” Jeff Gottke, president of the land bank, said. “This seems to be a good project to do that.”
PACE projects must be either commercial or residential.
“We will be doing a commercial PACE. It wouldn’t have worked for condos because it has to be one or the other,” Gottke explained. “We’ve been talking about how expensive this project is from the start, so this is a good tool to use.”
Cooper Progress Park
Gottke reported that the Cooper Park Development Company has completed the documents for the Cooper Park Property Owners Association.
He anticipates submitting POA documents and plan to the city’s Municipal Planning Commission on Sept. 8. The plan will then go to city council on Sept. 12, Sept. 26, and possibly Oct. 10 if legislation goes to a third reading.
He plans to submit the preliminary plat to municipal planning on Oct. 13.
“Then deeds can be produced, and we can sell,” he said.
The POA calls for a tiered system of payments. Everyone pays the first tier, which covers storm water, security, landscaping, snow removal, and other activities common to all tenants.
The second tier includes an additional payment for tenants/owners who use the complex’s fire line. The third tier includes an additional payment for buildings that require water/wastewater and/or maintenance and inspections.
The land bank will control the POA until five parcels have been sold/conveyed to five separate owners. At that point, a POA board will be created consisting of six directors: a representative of the land bank and a representative of each the five parcel owners.
Directors will serve staggered terms. As the terms expire, owners will elect the directors. Votes are counted based on a formula that includes parcel owners and square footage. The POA requires 75% of owners to agree to rewrite the bylaws.
Municipalities are not allowed to enter contracts that include open-ended fees. To enable government entities to locate in the park, the POA stipulates that the board will establish a budget by Oct. 31 of each year.
In other news relating to Cooper Progress Park, Schlumberge still owns five buildings in the park: #1, #5, controls, R&D, and power house. Schlumberge is still conducting remediation tests.
Plans call for demolishing the R&D building. Gottke said that if the power house is also demolished, Schlumberge can stop doing remediation if levels are low enough to allow for materials to go to a regular landfill.
“That’s the only holdup with transferring the rest of the buildings to us,” Gottke said, adding that Schlumberge promised to share its test results with the CPDC.
CPP miscellaneous:
•The CDPC is working with Ohio Cumberland Gas to meter each individual building.
•AEP is setting new utility poles to reroute electric out of the R&D building in preparation for demolition.
•Selling exhaust stacks to Siemens Energy brought in $72,000. An additional $11,500 came in from recycling metal scrap supports. The money will go toward park operations.
•Design work is underway for common areas, including aesthetically pleasing pedestrian walkways between buildings and a plaza on the corner of East Chestnut and North Sandusky streets.
