[Urbannizer]

If nuCLEus is Ever Built, it Sure Won't be a 54-Story Skyscraper

The Plain Dealer's Michelle Jarboe published one of the more important news updates of the year yesterday. A unique Tax Increment Financing proposal for the the theoretical nuCLEus skyscraper complex is no longer being considered by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

Jarboe reported that Eric Gordon, CMSD's CEO, said that the TIF package was no longer on the table — the school board will not vote on it — due to "changing circumstances" which made the deal "less compelling."

"There's the very real issue of why would we be giving tax relief to this builder or any builder ... when taxes are going up," Gordon told Jarboe.

The TIF proposal would have allowed Stark Enterprises, the nuCLEus developer, to pay CMSD a one-time upfront payment of $18 million in lieu of 30 years of property tax gains, estimated at $120 million. Like other TIF dollars, that portion of the increased taxes, (which arise from increased property value), would help finance the debt on the skyscraper's construction. The disparity in Stark dollars ($18 million vs. $120 million) is extreme, but the $18 million was sold as a good deal because CMSD could have immediately applied the funds to school construction and been eligible for matching state funding: up to two dollars for every dollar spent, supposedly. Gordon, for his part, said that he believed Stark has made a good-faith effort to treat the district well.

But with rising tax values, the $120 million estimate may be low. And Jarboe reported that CMSD is currently mired in intense disputes with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission about school construction costs and which funds may be eligible for additional state money.