New spec building in New Albany International Business Park could bring more than 400 jobs

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story inaccurately reported the abatement terms.

VanTrust Real Estate continues to be bullish on the New Albany International Business Park.

The company, which has an office in Columbus, plans to build its sixth facility on a 35-acre site on East Worthington Road, northeast of Facebook's campus.

The building will be on the south side of East Worthington, east of Beech Road and just west of Harrison Road SW.

The 470,000-square-foot speculative building would accommodate manufacturing, production and distribution services, said Michael Loges, New Albany's economic-development manager.

"We compete globally for this stuff," Loges said. "There's a pent-up demand for production space."

As with previous arrangements with VanTrust, the latest agreement was awarded a 15-year, 100% property-tax abatement, unanimously approved Oct. 19 by New Albany City Council.

VanTrust expects to spend $32 million on construction on the building while employing 410 full-time employees, producing an annual payroll of $14.2 million.

In a move that isn't unusual in these types of agreements, VanTrust must achieve revenue benchmarks of at least $1.18 of income-tax withholding per useable square foot, Loges said.

Also, a contract provision mandates that not more than 25% of the newly constructed area may be deemed warehouse space for the purpose of calculating useable square footage, he said.

If VanTrust falls short of that stipulation, the company will owe the city money, Loges said.

"That's typical because warehouse jobs don't pay as much as manufacturing jobs," he said.

Ultimately, if all conditions are met, the city and school district – Licking Heights Local Schools in this case – each will get $937,000 over the life of the abatement, Loges said.

VanTrust has had an active presence in the business park. For example, the company in April boke ground on its Innovation II building. The facility is 100% leased but won't be ready for tenants until December.

"We're trying to keep the momentum going," said Phil Rasey, vice president of development for VanTrust's local office.

"This is our sixth project out there; it's our first one south of (state Route) 161," he said. "We have some (prospective tenants) we're talking to. There's nothing done yet."

gseman@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekGary