9.29.09
Riverside seeks TIF to encourage major improvements
By DONAVON CAMPBELL - www.snponline.com
OhioHealth officials say expansion of Riverside Methodist Hospital is on the horizon, though plans have not been finalized.

OhioHealth, the nonprofit organization that operates Riverside, has filed an application with the city of Columbus to create a tax increment finance district that could help it pay for a future expansion of the hospital's facilities nearly a year ago, said Mark Hopkins, a spokesman for OhioHealth.

The application is set to be voted on by Columbus City Council during its meeting Monday, Oct. 5.

The TIF district would include the area around the hospital, at the intersection of North Broadway and Olentangy River Road.

With a TIF, a portion of the new property taxes generated by private property improvements would to help pay for public infrastructure work at the site, Columbus Deputy Development Director Michael Stevens said.

Columbus Director of Development Boyce Safford III sent a letter to Peter Fleming, OhioHealth's vice president of real estate and construction, in October. In it, Safford said it was the city's understanding the eventual projects will generate at least 200 jobs.

The letter also laid out that OhioHealth would be responsible in paying for public infrastructure improvements, expected to cost $13.5 million, up front. The city then would reimburse OhioHealth for 100 percent of the costs from the TIF fund.

Fleming said a number of potential projects are being considered.

Among those are the expansion and improvement of Thomas Lane and the construction of another building on a vacant lot to the west of the McConnell Heart Health Center, though specific plans for the building have not been released, Fleming said.

Fleming also said five of the seven buildings that make up the Whestone Center complex, which sits across from the hospital on the east side of Olentangy River Road, likely are to be demolished and replaced with a single large office building.

He added that the John J. Gerlach Senior Health Center is not a part of the plans and will not be demolished.

Fleming said the new developments are expected to cost more than $150 million during the next 30 years, which would be of great benefit to property values and income tax revenues for the city of Columbus.

Still, Fleming cautioned that nothing is set in stone as to what the potential plans might hold.

"The reality is that this is ongoing planning," Fleming said.

"What we're essentially talking about is what do we do with land that is vacant or should be vacant."

City Councilman Andrew Ginther said it is important to encourage such growth.

"It's a great opportunity for Columbus," Ginther said.

"Medical and health services is definitely a sector of our economy that is growing and we're doing all we can to support that growth."

Stevens said the TIF will not affect the schools, which receive the majority of property tax revenues. But other organizations such as the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Metro Parks and the Columbus Zoo will lose those future property tax dollars from the site.

The Ohio State University Medical Center, Mount Carmel Health System and Nationwide Children's Hospital all have announced their own plans for expansion as well.

Fleming said it is simply coincidence that the application is going before council at this time, but that he is not surprised that other local hospitals are looking to improve their services.

"The most important thing is that we are planning the growth of our campuses based on what the needs of the community are," Fleming said.

"All of us, while we compete with one another, we're all providing healthcare services to the community. We are all being receptive to what the needs of the community are."

"The most important thing is that we are planning the growth of our campuses based on what the needs of the community are."

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