Though the bonds have not yet been issued, the Port says they’re ready to go once Sherwin Williams closes on its various loans. The Port has served as a pass-through public agency and bond issuer since the mid-90s, when it issued bonds for the construction of the Rock Hall.
“This is not public money,” Jade Davis, the Port’s VP of External Affairs told Scene. “Sherwin will be on the hook for every penny.”
Davis said that using the Port as a bond issuer was attractive for companies like Sherwin pursuing major development projects because, as a public agency, the Port’s rates were lower than other lenders and its funds could be used to purchase construction materials tax-free.
“This is really a great project,” Davis said. “If you look at our charter, you’ll see that economic development is what we’re concerned with first and foremost, even more than maritime. We’ve been doing development finance like this since the mid-90s.”
The Port’s Real Estate and Finance Committee Chairman Darrell McNair agreed. “We have these two very exciting projects ahead of us and it shows that COVID-19 can’t stop good things from happening in Cleveland,” he said in a statement provided to the media.
The $50 million in bonds is of course only one piece of the elaborate financing package being assembled for Sherwin’s two projects, with an estimated $678.5 million price tag. The City of Cleveland is contributing around $100 million in tax abatements, rebates and grants.
According to Julie Young, Sherwin’s VP of Global Corporate Communications, both the downtown and Brecksville projects are still in the “early stages of construction planning.” The official groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for the Spring of 2021, and the company isn’t expected to transition into its new headquarters until at least 2023.
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This article appears in May 20-26, 2020.
“This is not public money”??? Seriously???
If that’s really true, then I guess they should demand the immediate rescission of the latest ma$$ive port authority property tax levy renewal AND increase to us property owners (I.e. taxpayers)!!!
If the port authority can so generously give out millions to corporate interests, then surely they can see it to refund a portion of our outrageous property taxes that we are forced to pay in this corruption-filled county!!!
OK Karen, I bet you are holed up in your basement scared to go out for the next few years. This is what the Port Authority is charged with doing–issuing bonds for private and public projects. You must have missed the notice or were too busy watching the tv about staying away from people for the next 20 years.