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Economic Development and Tax Incentives

Our firm has developed one of the largest multi-state economic development incentives practices based in a U.S. law firm. Our work spans the nation, having consulted on incentives deals in more than 30 states, for companies of all sizes. Some of the largest, fastest-growing companies in the U.S. count on our firm to advise them throughout the country on site-selection and incentives matters, while we also regularly advise businesses and governments that are using incentives for the first time. 

We have a core group of attorneys who focus specifically on economic development incentives. Depending on the needs of a particular economic development project, we call upon our attorneys with extensive experience in public finance, real estate, local government, environmental law, zoning and land use law, state and local tax, federal tax, and executive agency and legislative lobbying.

We regularly design cutting-edge economic development incentives structures and influence state and local policies. Our processes and approach have proven to be effective on a wide variety of complex projects across industries and project types.

Our clients include developers, expanding businesses and political subdivisions, each of which has specialized needs in the area of economic development incentives. Our professionals have the experience and capability to respond to these specialized needs to create solutions for all types and sizes of clients.

We strive to be flexible and fair while pricing our economic development incentives services.  One option is billing on a success-fee basis, which ties our fee to the amount of savings generated.  Our success fee exposes our clients to little or no financial risk in pursuing an incentives package from a state or local entity.  To begin, we offer a complimentary review of your projected capital expenditures or change in business operations to assess whether potential savings are available.  If we choose to pursue potential savings, we will then discuss the feasibility and specifics of a success fee. 

Expanding Businesses

Our firm has a long history of assisting businesses in securing local, state and federal economic development incentives to support expansion, consolidation and new construction projects.  We advise and provide counsel to both domestic and international companies, and we have worked with clients across the country to secure billions of dollars in incentives. 

The breadth and depth of the firm’s capabilities have helped the firm to develop one of the largest multi-state economic development incentives practices based in a U.S. law firm.  For example, Vorys lawyers:

• Represent a West Coast-based Fortune 50 company as incentives counsel in 14 states from coast to coast

• Represent a Fortune 50 retailer on incentives matters throughout the United States
• Drafted or assisted in the drafting of 18 statutory amendments related to economic development incentives
• Assisted some of the largest retailers in the United States in securing incentives to expand their office campuses and distribution center facilities
• Led the establishment of an internal economic development incentives team for a large international manufacturer and continue to guide that team’s effort in projects throughout the United States

• Served as incentives counsel in connection with three of the largest five incentives packages in the history of the Ohio Department of Development (nka Ohio Development Services Agency).

Developers

Our firm has represented some of the largest commercial and residential developers in the world in complex transactions involving economic development incentives.  In so doing, our attorneys have developed creative incentives structures that are specific to each project, which allow our clients to develop and market property to potential buyers or tenants in a competitive manner. 

Our firm’s representative engagements in this area include the following, among others:   

• We designed and implemented an innovative joint economic development zone-based structure to facilitate the use of assignable community reinvestment area and enterprise zone tax exemptions for the construction of a major industrial park in central Ohio  
• Our attorneys assisted prominent Ohio-based homebuilders with large residential developments using tax increment financing and new community districts 
• We represented a community development entity and a related qualified active low-income community business in closing a $35 million leveraged New Markets Tax Credit transaction to anchor the redevelopment of a blighted area
• We represented the developer in one of the largest, most complex urban redevelopment projects ever planned in Ohio, a project with more than a dozen different sources of incentives collectively worth more than $100 million

Political Subdivisions

Our attorneys regularly advise political subdivisions on issues such as the use of tax increment financing and other types of economic development financing to support the construction of public infrastructure improvements and private development, the offering of community reinvestment area and enterprise zone tax exemptions to encourage expansion and construction, and the creative use of special programs such as municipal incentives based on job creation.

Our engagements in this area include the following matters, among others:

• We served as special counsel to a city in helping the city win a site-selection contest for a 1,400-employee corporate headquarters facility and construct $50M+ of public improvements to leverage the headquarters and related development
• Our attorneys advised a Central Ohio municipality and prepared necessary legislation and agreements in connection with a TIF/CRA-driven redevelopment of its main street corridor
• We advised an Ohio community in negotiating a unique combination of incentives, including electricity price and services incentives, that led to the construction of one of the largest hydroponic greenhouses in the U.S.
• Our attorneys structured an annexation/economic development incentives-based agreement and provided related counsel that led to the award of a multimillion dollar Ohio Job Ready Sites grant in support of a municipally-owned industrial park in Western Ohio 
• In connection with opportunities presented by the Utica Shale oil and natural gas play, we assisted communities throughout Eastern Ohio in establishing their first tax increment financing areas

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