09/10/07 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 2007 SECTION VI. The Common Council hereby determines that the property owner is qualified for and is granted property tax deduction for a period of seven years. SECTION VII. The Common Council directs the City Clerk to cause notice of the adoption of this Declaratory Resolution for Real Property Tax Abatement to be published pursuant to Indiana Code § 5-3-1 and Indiana Code § 6-1.1-12.1-2.5, said publication providing notice of the public hearing before the Common Council on the proposed confirming of said declaration. SECTION VIII. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor. slTimothy A. Rouse Member of the Common Council Councilmember Dieter, Chairperson, Community and Economic Development Committee reported that this committee held a Public Hearing on this bill this a~ernoon and gave it due diligence to a new 1st District Business by hearing the pros and cons and voted to send it to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Ms. Jamie Wade, CB Richard Ellis, as agent for Olive Cleveland Partners, LLC, 202 S. Michigan Street, Suite 200 South Bend, Indiana, made the presentation for this bill. Ms. Wade stated that Olive Cleveland Partners plans on constructing a 104,000 square foot or a 208,000 square foot Class A warehouseldistribution center in the Airport Economic Development area. The new warehouse will facilitate the relocation and expansion of Invacare Corporation from 48,000 square feet in 3507 Olive to 64,000 square feet in the new building. Hilti, Inc., a current tenant in 3507 Olive Road, will expand into 8,000 square feet of the old Invacare space. Prospective tenant DHL may occupy 50,000 to 60,000 square feet in the new warehouse and plans to double its workforce, bringing 4 new employees to this area. The warehouse will of modern bulk space design with a clear height of 32 feet which is a new product for the South Bend market. The project will be carried out in two phases. In each phase, 104,000 square feet of space will be constructed. Timing for the construction of the second phase will depend on market conditions. Olive Cleveland Partners is a local investor developer who is purchasing in Phase I and Phase II, from a west coast investment group so it is bringing the ownership local which is a good thing for South Bend. Ms. Wade noted that the developer saw this project as a positive investment due to the increase in demand for the modern bulk space. Modern bulk warehouse structures typically consist of 100,000 square feet or more with clear heights of 30' or more, warehouse distribution operations need more space to house high inventory levels which is resulting in need for larger facility with greater clear heights and larger bays and also the locations near major transportation hubs such as the South Bend Regional Airport and the Toll Road. They have found in their research in industrial market studies that modern bulk spaces dominating new industrial construction nationally and this being a new product to the South Bend area along with the development of Portage Prairie will hopefully bring Chicago businesses eastward, so that they can have some results with some spin-off development in the future from these businesses. A Public Hearing was held on the Resolution at this time. There being no one present wishing to speak to the Council either in favor of or in opposition to this Resolution, Councilmember Dieter made a motion to adopt this Resolution. Councilmember Varner seconded the motion which carried and the Resolution was adopted by a roll call vote of eight (8) ayes. BILLS -FIRST READING 24