Columbus Enacts Emergency Financing and Authority for WestBend Housing on Fisher Road
City Council approved a new community authority, 30-year tax district, and utility agreements to meet a commercial lender deadline for 895 riverfront apartments.
The Columbus City Council resolved that the WestBend Community Authority is organized as a body politic and corporate intended to result in the development of a new community district, according to municipal records.
In companion emergency measures, council created a tax increment financing district at Fisher Road and McKinley Avenue, ordinance records show.
Council also approved emergency cooperative agreements to reimburse infrastructure bonds and coordinate utility services for the development, according to city legislation.
The legislation appeared on council's Oct. 26 agenda, with final action completed on Oct. 28, according to council records.
Previously, Pique Media reported on the pending emergency financing package on Oct. 23 and covered council's review of the redevelopment contracts on Oct. 26.
Columbus City Hall at 90 W. Broad St. in downtown Columbus, where City Council enacted the emergency WestBend development measures.
Credit: General Ization / Wikimedia Commons Image source
Lender Deadline Drives Emergency Enactment
City officials requested emergency action because the developer's commercial lender required the community authority to be established before the end of the month to close on apartment financing, according to resolution filings.
Without the financing in place, apartment construction faced potential delays beyond deadlines in the economic development agreement, threatening a loss of housing units and construction jobs, city records state.
The lender also required the city to establish the tax increment financing district before the end of the month as a condition of closing the apartment loan, according to tax ordinance filings.
In addition, the lender conditioned loan closing on city authorization of the cooperative agreements before the end of the month, according to utility ordinance records.
Brownfield Scope and Community Authority Powers
The project will redevelop the former Buckeye Auto Parts brownfield site on approximately 50.28 acres bounded by McKinley Avenue, the New York Central Railroad, the Scioto River, and Lake Shore Drive, according to municipal records.
Developer WestBend QOZB, LLC is an affiliate of Thrive Companies LLC, according to city economic development records.
The developer plans to privately invest nearly $200 million to build approximately 895 apartment units, including affordable housing, and up to 8,000 square feet of retail space with surface parking and resident amenities, according to project filings.
The mixed-use commercial and residential development also includes about 17 acres of green space and bikeways, according to council filings.
The city committed to form the new community authority pursuant to Chapter 349 of the Ohio Revised Code, municipal filings show.
The community authority was established for the purpose of imposing community development charges for land acquisition, land development, new community facilities, and services, according to city records.
Tax Exemption and Utility Infrastructure
The tax increment financing district grants a 100% real property tax exemption on parcel improvements for up to 30 years across three separate phases, according to ordinance filings.
Columbus City Schools will receive all property tax amounts the district would have collected if the exemption had not been granted, city records state.
Parcel owners will make annual service payments in lieu of taxes, with the school portion distributed directly to Columbus City Schools and the remaining non-school portion placed in a municipal fund for public infrastructure, according to the ordinance.
The non-school funds will reimburse bonds issued by the WestBend Community Authority for public infrastructure improvements, according to the cooperative agreement legislation.
Public infrastructure improvements include water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer systems, with the WestBend Community Authority coordinating water and sanitary sewer service delivery through a master meter with the city, according to city records.
The utility agreement also governs the ongoing operation and maintenance of water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer infrastructure, municipal filings show.
How we know this
The sources and records behind this story, with the facts they support.
Supporting evidence (8)
The Columbus City Council resolved that the WestBend Community Authority is organized as a body politic and corporate intended to result in the development of a new community district, according to municipal records.
Read supporting passage
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: SECTION 1. Approval of Petition. That the Petition is hereby accepted and shall be recorded, along with this resolution, in the journal of this Council as the organizational board of commissioners for all purposes of Revised Code Chapter 349, and this Council hereby determines that the WestBend Community Authority, and its District as defined in Revised Code Section 349.01(C), will be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience, and welfare, and is intended to result in the development of a new community, as defined in Revised Code Section 349.01(A). SECTION 2. Establishment of Authority and District. That pursuant to the Petition, the WestBend Community Authority is hereby organized as a body politic and corporate with the corporate name designated in the Petition (such name being the “WestBend Community Authority”), and the boundaries of the District are as set forth in the Petition and Exhibit A attached hereto.
City officials requested emergency action because the developer's commercial lender required the community authority to be established before the end of the month to close on apartment financing, according to resolution filings.
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Emergency Justification: Emergency action is requested to immediately establish the WestBend Community Authority as the Developer’s lender is requiring the Developer to close on the apartment financing before the end of the month but the lender will not close unless the City first establishes the WestBend Community Authority and without such financing the apartments may be delayed beyond the deadline in the EDA causing a loss of new housing units and construction jobs.
Without the financing in place, apartment construction faced potential delays beyond deadlines in the economic development agreement, threatening a loss of housing units and construction jobs, city records state.
Read supporting passage
Emergency Justification: Emergency action is requested to immediately establish the WestBend Community Authority as the Developer’s lender is requiring the Developer to close on the apartment financing before the end of the month but the lender will not close unless the City first establishes the WestBend Community Authority and without such financing the apartments may be delayed beyond the deadline in the EDA causing a loss of new housing units and construction jobs.
The project will redevelop the former Buckeye Auto Parts brownfield site on approximately 50.28 acres bounded by McKinley Avenue, the New York Central Railroad, the Scioto River, and Lake Shore Drive, according to municipal records.
Read supporting passage
The Developer will develop, in multiple phases, the former Buckeye Auto Parts brownfield site consisting of approximately 50.28 acres of the real property bounded generally by McKinley Avenue and the New York Central Railroad to the south and west, the Scioto River to the east, and Lake Shore Drive to the north (“WestBend”).
Developer WestBend QOZB, LLC is an affiliate of Thrive Companies LLC, according to city economic development records.
Read supporting passage
WESTBEND QOZB, LLC (the “Developer”), an affiliate of Thrive Companies LLC, and the City have entered into an Economic Development Agreement dated April 19, 2024, as amended by the First Amendment to Economic Development Agreement dated August 19, 2026, (together, the “EDA”) pursuant to Ordinance No. 1866-2023 passed by City Council on July 31, 2023 and Ordinance No. 1511-2026 passed by City Council on June 22, 2026.
The mixed-use commercial and residential development also includes about 17 acres of green space and bikeways, according to council filings.
Read supporting passage
WHEREAS, WestBend will consist of a mixed-use commercial and residential development of approximately 895 apartment units and up to 8,000 square feet of retail uses, together with about 17 acres of green space and bikeways; and
The city committed to form the new community authority pursuant to Chapter 349 of the Ohio Revised Code, municipal filings show.
Read supporting passage
The City committed in the EDA to form a new community authority pursuant to R.C. Chapter 349 to support WestBend.
The community authority was established for the purpose of imposing community development charges for land acquisition, land development, new community facilities, and services, according to city records.
Read supporting passage
WHEREAS, to support the redevelopment of WestBend, the City agreed in the EDA to support the formation of a new community authority for the site (the “WestBend Community Authority”) for the purpose of the WestBend Community Authority imposing community development charges for its land acquisition and land development activities, to develop new community facilities, and to provide services to WestBend; and
Supporting evidence (7)
In companion emergency measures, council created a tax increment financing district at Fisher Road and McKinley Avenue, ordinance records show.
Read supporting passage
To create the WestBend TIF encompassing property at the southwest, southeast, and northeast, corners of the intersection of Fisher Road and McKinley Avenue and between the New York Central Railroad to the west and the Scioto River to the east; to declare improvements to those parcel(s) to be a public purpose and exempt from real property taxation; to require the owner(s) of those parcel(s) to make service payments in lieu of taxes; to require the distribution of the applicable portion of those service payments to the Columbus City Schools; to establish a municipal public improvement tax increment equivalent fund for the deposit of the remainder of those non-school service payments; and to declare an emergency. ($0.00)
The legislation appeared on council's Oct. 26 agenda, with final action completed on Oct. 28, according to council records.
Read supporting passage
On agenda: 10/26/2026 Final action: 10/28/2026
The lender also required the city to establish the tax increment financing district before the end of the month as a condition of closing the apartment loan, according to tax ordinance filings.
Read supporting passage
Emergency Justification: Emergency action is requested to immediately establish the WestBend TIF as the Developer’s lender is requiring the Developer to close on the apartment financing before the end of the month but the lender will not close unless the City first establishes the WestBend TIF and without such financing the apartments may be delayed beyond the deadline in the EDA causing a loss of new housing units and construction jobs.
The developer plans to privately invest nearly $200 million to build approximately 895 apartment units, including affordable housing, and up to 8,000 square feet of retail space with surface parking and resident amenities, according to project filings.
Read supporting passage
The Developer intends to privately invest nearly $200 million to develop in multiple phases approximately 895 apartment units (including affordable housing units), up to 8,000 square feet of retail, off-street surface parking, and appropriate associated amenities.
The tax increment financing district grants a 100% real property tax exemption on parcel improvements for up to 30 years across three separate phases, according to ordinance filings.
Read supporting passage
The WestBend TIF provides for a one hundred percent (100%) exemption from real property taxation on improvements to the parcels within the WestBend TIF for a not more than a thirty-year period for all parcels in each of three separate phases (or any other phases designated by ordinance) within the WestBend TIF. Columbus City Schools will receive, in the same manner as usual, all amounts that they would have received in real property taxes had the tax exemption not been granted.
Columbus City Schools will receive all property tax amounts the district would have collected if the exemption had not been granted, city records state.
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The WestBend TIF provides for a one hundred percent (100%) exemption from real property taxation on improvements to the parcels within the WestBend TIF for a not more than a thirty-year period for all parcels in each of three separate phases (or any other phases designated by ordinance) within the WestBend TIF. Columbus City Schools will receive, in the same manner as usual, all amounts that they would have received in real property taxes had the tax exemption not been granted.
Parcel owners will make annual service payments in lieu of taxes, with the school portion distributed directly to Columbus City Schools and the remaining non-school portion placed in a municipal fund for public infrastructure, according to the ordinance.
Read supporting passage
Annual service payments in lieu of taxes will be made by the owner(s) of each parcel with respect to the exempted improvements of the WestBend TIF parcels. The applicable portion of those service payments will be distributed directly to Columbus City Schools. The remaining non-school portion of those service payments will be paid to the City for deposit into the TIF fund established by this Ordinance to be used to finance public infrastructure improvements directly benefiting the WestBend TIF parcels.
Supporting evidence (5)
Council also approved emergency cooperative agreements to reimburse infrastructure bonds and coordinate utility services for the development, according to city legislation.
Read supporting passage
To appropriate and authorize the expenditure or transfer of funds deposited or to be deposited in the WestBend TIF Fund pursuant to the following agreement; to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to enter into the Tax Increment Financing and Cooperative Agreement between the City, WestBend Community Authority, and WestBend QOZB, LLC to reimburse bonds issued by the WestBend Community Authority for the costs of public infrastructure improvements described thereunder benefiting WestBend QOZB, LLC’s development at the intersection of Fisher Road and McKinley Avenue; to authorize the Director of Columbus Water & Power to enter into the Utility Cooperative Agreement between the City, WestBend Community Authority, and WestBend QOZB, LLC related to the ongoing operation and maintenance of water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer infrastructure for said development; and to declare an emergency. ($0.00)
In addition, the lender conditioned loan closing on city authorization of the cooperative agreements before the end of the month, according to utility ordinance records.
Read supporting passage
Emergency Justification: Emergency action is requested to immediately authorize the execution of the TIF Agreement and the utility cooperative agreement as the Developer’s lender is requiring the Developer to close on the apartment financing before the end of the month but the lender will not close unless the City first authorizes the TIF Agreement and utility cooperative agreement and without such financing the apartments may be delayed beyond the deadline in the EDA causing a loss of new housing units and construction jobs.
The non-school funds will reimburse bonds issued by the WestBend Community Authority for public infrastructure improvements, according to the cooperative agreement legislation.
Read supporting passage
To appropriate and authorize the expenditure or transfer of funds deposited or to be deposited in the WestBend TIF Fund pursuant to the following agreement; to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to enter into the Tax Increment Financing and Cooperative Agreement between the City, WestBend Community Authority, and WestBend QOZB, LLC to reimburse bonds issued by the WestBend Community Authority for the costs of public infrastructure improvements described thereunder benefiting WestBend QOZB, LLC’s development at the intersection of Fisher Road and McKinley Avenue; to authorize the Director of Columbus Water & Power to enter into the Utility Cooperative Agreement between the City, WestBend Community Authority, and WestBend QOZB, LLC related to the ongoing operation and maintenance of water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer infrastructure for said development; and to declare an emergency. ($0.00)
Public infrastructure improvements include water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer systems, with the WestBend Community Authority coordinating water and sanitary sewer service delivery through a master meter with the city, according to city records.
Read supporting passage
WHEREAS, the Public Infrastructure Improvements will include water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer infrastructure for the Site that the WestBend Community Authority will coordinate the delivery of water and sanitary sewer services to the parcels within the Site pursuant to a master meter with the City; and
The utility agreement also governs the ongoing operation and maintenance of water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer infrastructure, municipal filings show.
Read supporting passage
This Ordinance will also authorize the utility cooperative agreement between the City, the WestBend Community Authority, and the Developer related to the ongoing operation and maintenance of water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer infrastructure necessary for the redevelopment of the Site.
Columbus Council Weighs Emergency Financing for WestBend Project on Fisher Road
Supporting evidence (1)
Previously, Pique Media reported on the pending emergency financing package on Oct. 23 and covered council's review of the redevelopment contracts on Oct. 26.
Read supporting passage
Columbus Council Weighs Emergency Financing for WestBend Project on Fisher Road
Columbus City Council Weighs WestBend Redevelopment and Infrastructure Contracts
Supporting evidence (1)
Previously, Pique Media reported on the pending emergency financing package on Oct. 23 and covered council's review of the redevelopment contracts on Oct. 26.
Read supporting passage
Columbus City Council Weighs WestBend Redevelopment and Infrastructure Contracts