City officials hope a federal program that provides tax incentives to businesses could bring more commercial and industrial growth to the city’s east side.
The federal Opportunity Zone program, which was created in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, provides federal capital gains tax incentives to attract private sector investment to low-income urban and rural communities.
Gov. Eric Holcomb has submitted 156 census tracts that were nominated as Opportunity Zones to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin for consideration, one of which is in Columbus on the city’s east side.
The area, which encompasses 3.86 square miles and is known as Census Tract 108, includes State Street, Indiana Avenue and McKinley Avenue, in addition to portions of Gladstone Avenue and Marr Road. If the census tracts are approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the designations remain in place for 10 years.
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The federal initiative allows up to 25 percent of a state’s eligible low-income census tracts to be designated as Opportunity Zones, meaning Holcomb was able to nominate a maximum of 156.
“This new program provides one more tool to attract investment and help more of our Hoosier communities succeed,” Holcomb said.
If the local census tract is approved, the federal program could be attractive to potential commercial or industrial developers since Columbus is already able to offer tax abatements, said Robin Hilber, community development programs coordinator with the city.
“We think this will be a real economic tool,” Hilber said. “We felt that area in particular was ripe for redevelopment.”
The Columbus City Council approved a resolution last year designating six areas of the city as Economic Revitalization Areas to streamline the process of attracting new businesses. One of the six areas was the State Street Industrial Corridor from downtown to the east side of Columbus.
The other five areas that were identified include:
- Woodside Northwest, on the south side of Columbus
- Progress Park, off U.S. 31 and Lowell Road
- Columbus Municipal Airport, on Columbus’ north side
- Indianapolis Road Industrial Corridor, leading out of the city to the north
- Columbus’ downtown area
An ERA designation is required for businesses seeking a tax abatement for new or redevelopment projects, Hilber said.
The city approved a 10-year tax abatement in February for Tipton Mills Foods, a manufacturer of functional powdered beverages and foods, for a 40,000-square-foot expansion of its facility at 835 S. Mapleton St.
The company said it planned to make a $2.4 million investment in property improvements and an additional $2 million in new equipment. The expansion is on track to be completed by the end of the year and will result in 31 jobs being retained and 15 jobs being added this year, said David Harding, president of Tipton Mills Foods, in an earlier interview.
Hilber said that with many vacant buildings available, the federal program could bring more activity to the State Street area if the census tract is approved.
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July 2017: Columbus City Council gives final approval to a resolution designating six areas of the city as Economic Revitalization Areas to streamline the process of attracting new businesses.
February 2018: City approves 10-year tax abatement for Tipton Mills Foods, a manufacturer of functional powdered beverages and foods, for a 40,000-square-foot expansion at 835 S. Mapleton St.
April 2018: Gov. Eric Holcomb submits Indiana’s 156 Opportunity Zone nominations to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. One of the zones is within Bartholomew County on the east side of Columbus.
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