Council to vote on Skyline CRA

City Council is set to vote on a tax exemption that would allow Skyline Chili to build a larger restaurant at McMillan Street and Victory Parkway in Walnut Hills.

Developer KMS Realty, LTD is seeking a Community Reinvestment Area Tax Exemption estimated at $172,860, or 75 percent of their real property taxes.

The agreement would be in effect for fifteen years.

KMS Realty, LTD plans to build a 3,600-square-foot restaurant with 140 seats, 60 parking spaces and a drive-thru. The estimated cost for the project is $1.3 million-$1.6 million.

The larger restaurant would create 16 new jobs, four of which would be full-time.

The CRA program in Ohio was created in 1977 and is typically used to encourage development in under-invested areas.

In Cincinnati, residential property is automatically eligible for property tax abatements, but commercial abatements must be codified by agreement and approved by City Council.

The developer originally planned a multi-story, mixed-use building at the site, which was later revised to be a strip center with a bank as an anchor tenant.

However, no tenant could be found. As a result, the current Skyline restaurant at 1202 E McMillan Street has been tentatively leased to Taco Casa, pending the outcome of this legislation.

The Cinelect building, the under-leased and rundown office building that occupied the site, was torn down in late October.

Construction of the new stand-alone restaurant would be completed by May 2008.

Previous reading on BC:
Tax exemption for Skyline expansion? (11/2/07)