Gahanna Approves 10-Year Tax Abatement for $3.61M Eastgate Flex Campus
Ordinance ORD-0037-2026 authorizes a 75% CRA exemption tied to 15 jobs, $756,600 in payroll, and a projected 9.9-year incentive payback.
Gahanna City Council enacted Ordinance ORD-0037-2026 on Oct. 5, authorizing Mayor Laurie Jadwin to enter into a 10-year, 75% Community Reinvestment Area property tax abatement agreement with Eastgate Flex LLC for a $3.61 million commercial campus on Eastgate Parkway.
The legislative approval grants the seventy-five percent (75%) real property tax exemption for a period of ten (10) years for the construction of approximately 36,000 square feet of flexible commercial, office, and light-industrial space on Parcel No. 025-006522-00 within Community Reinvestment Area No. 1.
Previously, Pique reported on Oct. 6 that Developer Cites $500,000 in Site Costs to Justify Gahanna Tax Abatement.
Job Targets and Investment Commitments
Under the terms of the agreement, Eastgate Flex LLC, an entity affiliated with LTK Realty LLC, committed to making improvements to the Project Site totaling not less than Three Million Six Hundred Twelve Thousand Dollars ($3,612,000) in construction costs.
The development plan features three identical 12,000-square-foot buildings, with each structure holding up to eight individual 1,500-square-foot tenant spaces designed for small-scale office, service, and light-industrial businesses.
In exchange for the property tax exemption, the developer agreed to contractual economic performance milestones. The company is required to achieve and maintain creating and maintaining a minimum of fifteen (15) new jobs in Gahanna with a minimum annual payroll of Seven Hundred Fifty-Six Thousand Six Hundred Dollars ($756,600), to be achieved within three (3) years after verification of completion of construction. The agreement specifies that the employment and payroll totals are measured in the aggregate across the developer and all on-site tenants.
Fiscal Payback and Economic Return
An evaluation conducted by the Gahanna Department of Economic Development found that the project satisfied the city's standard incentive review criteria. The department calculated that the campus will generate an estimated economic output of approximately Two Hundred Twenty-Eight Thousand Five Hundred Forty-Five Dollars ($228,545) per acre.
City economic development staff also determined that the flex park will produce a net fiscal benefit of approximately Five Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($540,000) during the tax exemption period, and recover the value of the incentive in approximately 9.9 years.
While properties in Community Reinvestment Area No. 1 are eligible for abatements of up to one hundred percent (100%) for fifteen (15) years, the developer requested and municipal officials recommended the lower 10-year, 75% abatement to ensure project viability while maintaining lease affordability for prospective tenants.
Concluding Council Review After Site Challenges
The Oct. 5 enactment concluded council consideration of the ordinance following detailed developer testimony regarding site challenges on the four-acre parcel.
At a Sept. 28 Committee of the Whole meeting, developer Leland Vogel of LTK Realty addressed council inquiries regarding environmental conditions and site development costs. Vogel explained that severe slopes and ground conditions prevented grading a single pad for one 36,000-square-foot building, which required the company to construct three buildings rather than one 36,000-square-foot building because the grades would not accommodate a foundation pad large enough for a single structure. That multi-building design eliminated economies of scale and required three separate electric, water, and sanitary utility services.
Vogel told council members that unexpected physical constraints added roughly estimated the readily documented additional site-related costs at approximately $500,000 and described that figure as a rough-order-of-magnitude estimate to site preparation. Those expenses included an estimated $200,000 retaining wall along the northern property boundary, $250,000 for underground stormwater storage chambers paired with a shallow dry basin, and an offer to acquire wetland mitigation credits from the Upper Scioto Mitigation Bank for $25,000 alongside $10,000 in permitting fees.
Following that presentation, the Committee of the Whole voted to mark the legislation Recommended for Adoption, advancing the measure to the Oct. 5 council agenda for formal passage.
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Supporting evidence (7)
Gahanna City Council enacted Ordinance ORD-0037-2026 on Oct. 5, authorizing Mayor Laurie Jadwin to enter into a 10-year, 75% Community Reinvestment Area property tax abatement agreement with Eastgate Flex LLC for a $3.61 million commercial campus on Eastgate Parkway.
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ORD-0037-2026
The legislative approval grants the seventy-five percent (75%) real property tax exemption for a period of ten (10) years for the construction of approximately 36,000 square feet of flexible commercial, office, and light-industrial space on Parcel No. 025-006522-00 within Community Reinvestment Area No. 1.
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providing for a seventy-five percent (75%) real property tax exemption for a period of ten (10) years
Under the terms of the agreement, Eastgate Flex LLC, an entity affiliated with LTK Realty LLC, committed to making improvements to the Project Site totaling not less than Three Million Six Hundred Twelve Thousand Dollars ($3,612,000) in construction costs.
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making improvements to the Project Site totaling not less than Three Million Six Hundred Twelve Thousand Dollars ($3,612,000) in construction costs
The company is required to achieve and maintain creating and maintaining a minimum of fifteen (15) new jobs in Gahanna with a minimum annual payroll of Seven Hundred Fifty-Six Thousand Six Hundred Dollars ($756,600), to be achieved within three (3) years after verification of completion of construction.
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creating and maintaining a minimum of fifteen (15) new jobs in Gahanna with a minimum annual payroll of Seven Hundred Fifty-Six Thousand Six Hundred Dollars ($756,600), to be achieved within three (3) years after verification of completion of construction
The department calculated that the campus will generate an estimated economic output of approximately Two Hundred Twenty-Eight Thousand Five Hundred Forty-Five Dollars ($228,545) per acre.
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generate an estimated economic output of approximately Two Hundred Twenty-Eight Thousand Five Hundred Forty-Five Dollars ($228,545) per acre
City economic development staff also determined that the flex park will produce a net fiscal benefit of approximately Five Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($540,000) during the tax exemption period, and recover the value of the incentive in approximately 9.9 years.
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produce a net fiscal benefit of approximately Five Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($540,000) during the tax exemption period, and recover the value of the incentive in approximately 9.9 years
While properties in Community Reinvestment Area No. 1 are eligible for abatements of up to one hundred percent (100%) for fifteen (15) years, the developer requested and municipal officials recommended the lower 10-year, 75% abatement to ensure project viability while maintaining lease affordability for prospective tenants.
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up to one hundred percent (100%) for fifteen (15) years
Developer Cites $500,000 in Site Costs to Justify Gahanna Tax Abatement
Supporting evidence (1)
Previously, Pique reported on Oct. 6 that Developer Cites $500,000 in Site Costs to Justify Gahanna Tax Abatement.
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Developer Cites $500,000 in Site Costs to Justify Gahanna Tax Abatement
Committee of the Whole · 2026-09-28
Supporting evidence (4)
Vogel explained that severe slopes and ground conditions prevented grading a single pad for one 36,000-square-foot building, which required the company to construct three buildings rather than one 36,000-square-foot building because the grades would not accommodate a foundation pad large enough for a single structure.
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required the company to construct three buildings rather than one 36,000-square-foot building because the grades would not accommodate a foundation pad large enough for a single structure
Vogel told council members that unexpected physical constraints added roughly estimated the readily documented additional site-related costs at approximately $500,000 and described that figure as a rough-order-of-magnitude estimate to site preparation.
Read supporting passage
estimated the readily documented additional site-related costs at approximately $500,000 and described that figure as a rough-order-of-magnitude estimate
Those expenses included an estimated $200,000 retaining wall along the northern property boundary, $250,000 for underground stormwater storage chambers paired with a shallow dry basin, and an offer to acquire wetland mitigation credits from the Upper Scioto Mitigation Bank for $25,000 alongside $10,000 in permitting fees.
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Upper Scioto Mitigation Bank for $25,000
Following that presentation, the Committee of the Whole voted to mark the legislation Recommended for Adoption, advancing the measure to the Oct. 5 council agenda for formal passage.
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Recommended for Adoption