Signature Associates

New construction coming to Reynolds Road

A new building slated for the Reynolds Road corridor marks another new project in an area previously wrought with blight.

The Toledo Police Federal Credit Union will invest $1.25 million for the construction of a new 4,200-square-foot building at 2340 S. Reynolds Road near the intersection of Heatherdowns and Reynolds roads. The site once housed the Clarion Hotel, which was demolished in 2014 after sitting vacant for five years.

Construction could begin in the spring and will be located adjacent to the International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union 18 building, which was constructed in 2019 on a 1.5-acre parcel at the site. The new building will have six offices, modern technology capabilities, and two drive-thru windows, said Ryan Hieber, CEO of the Toledo Police Federal Credit Union.

The search for a new site began five years ago and it was important to have drive-thru capabilities as well as a location near the current site at the corner of Eastgate Road and Heatherdowns Boulevard in south Toledo, he said.

“We knew being a Toledo police credit union, we had to be in Toledo,” he said. “Toledo’s willingness to develop that corridor, it’s very attractive, the revitalization of the area makes that an attractive spot.”

Last March, Toledo City Council approved the sale of the 3.5 acre property for $289,000, paving the way for the project. In addition, council members approved a tax incentive agreement through the Community Reinvestment Area program, which ensures that the new building will be partially tax-exempt for a period of 15 years.

With the agreement, Toledo Public Schools will receive two-thirds of the amount they would normally receive or approximately $15,250 in tax revenue, said Sandy Spang, deputy director of economic development, who negotiated the sale and presented it to Toledo City Council for approval.

With an estimated building value of $1 million dollars, the credit union could expect to realize an annual savings of approximately $18,000 through the CSA program. The estimate does not include special assessments for city services such as snow removal and street lighting, which are not based on the taxable value, and will not be abated by a tax exemption, Mrs. Spang said.

The Toledo Police Federal Credit Union employs a staff of six and has long-term plans calling for four more. Three employees also work at an office in downtown Toledo. The credit union serves law enforcement officers in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, Mr. Hieber said.

“Because of how small we have been to date, we’ve not really branched too far out from the Toledo Police Department and Lucas County Sheriff’s office,” he said. “Not that we want to stray too far from our roots, we always want to stay loyal to the Toledo Police Department, but we also want to be able to offer our services to all of the departments that we can service and this will be able to give us the opportunity to begin that process.”

The CSA program was created by the state of Ohio to encourage development in areas that had experienced disinvestment, Mrs. Spang said.

“This is the process that we will continue to use, where we remove blighted and non-functioning buildings, remediate the environmental concerns and restore it to being a development-ready property,” she said.

Mrs. Spang served on Toledo City Council when the Clarion Hotel was demolished. The vacated 11-story building had fallen into a state of severe disrepair, having caught fire, been broken into, vandalized, and lived in illegally prior to being knocked down. The Toledo Police Credit Union project is the first proposal Mrs. Spang has been part of in her current role with the city.

“For me, this was a really satisfying full-circle experience,” she said. “The city was just delighted to be part of the growth of the credit union and we are delighted that they will be able to continue to serve their customers from the city of Toledo location.”

Posted By: The Toledo Blade on January 29, 2022.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

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