MANSFIELD — A proposed citywide energy special improvement district could be a new tool for commercial economic development in Mansfield, according to Tim Bowersock.
Bowersock, the city’s veteran economic development director, plans to introduce legislation that would create the new district, discussed this week at City Council.
The program, created by state law through the Ohio Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), helps finance energy efficient and renewable energy projects in Ohio.
Bowersock said the timing of the legislation request will be tied to a request from a local business.
“It’s dependent on when the first project is presented to us. We have to have a project, an end user, in order to take it to council,” Bowersock said.
“It adds capital availability. That’s the big thing,” he said. “It’s competitive with market-rate financing and it may allow developers to do more than they originally would have in terms of energy improvements as they renovate or build new facilities.”
— PACE finances energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements that are repaid with a special assessment added to the property’s tax bill. PACE can be used for all commercial property types and most non-profits. Government-owned buildings are not eligible.
— “Energy Special Improvement Districts” were created by state law in 2009. They require local legislation, which Mansfield City Council may soon consider. Individual property owners can voluntarily apply to and join the district as they build and/or remodel.
— If the planned new construction or redevelopment saves on energy, it qualifies for PACE. These include heating/ventilation, lighting, water pump, insulation, solar panels, motors and roof construction/improvements.
— PACE benefits building owners in various ways, including no down payment requirement, no personal guarantees and fixed rates/fixed repayments. Upon the sale of a property, the assessment remains with the property, not the business.
— The length of the repayment term is tied to the useful life of the improvement.
City Council heard a presentation this week from Chris Jones, PACE financial consultant with the Ohio law firm of Bricker & Eckler; Michael Ringle, an attorney with the firm; and Amy Kunkle, a project architect for the Mansfield architecture firm FiELD9.
PACE allows for special assessments on property tax bills that are used to repay and secure upfront funding for improvements that save or generate energy.
Jones said it incentivizes development in an economical and environmentally conscious way.
Kunkle told council her firm has several clients interested in the program.
“At FiELD9, we are looking for more sustainable and energy efficient projects,” she said. “I feel like it gives our clients and ourselves access to money that doesn’t have to come out of a loan.
“You can also pair it with other tax incentives, such as solar, and it can be stacked. It’s just a different pot of money that you can use for energy-efficient projects,” Kunkle said.
She said the firm’s clients have told them they want to do better projects.
“PACE is a great way to get them additional funding. PACE does partner with a primary lender in a lot of cases and can also be combined with HOME dollars or other sources of funding,” she said.
“We want to bring more sustainable projects to the area. I feel like it’s a really easy way, but the barrier to entry is creating this energy special improvement district, which is where you guys can help,” Kunkle said.
At-large Council member Stephanie Zader said she was open to the proposal.
“Commercial real estate is my world and I’ve had several of my clients talk about this funding. I’m really excited to see it coming here and the opportunity that it brings.
“I think that this is really is a huge opportunity for Mansfield to take some of our older commercial properties and improve those, bring them up to date,” she said.
“There are also some new projects on the horizon that we have been talking about,” Zader said.
