What do the Amazon fulfillment center in Akron, the Hall of Fame Village project in Canton, and the Akron Civic Theater have in common?
These are all part of hundreds of projects in Northeast Ohio that have secured financing through the Summit County Development Finance Authority.
Here's what you need to know about DFA and its impact in your region.
What is the Summit County Development Finance Authority?
DFA is an Akron-based quasi-governmental organization that issues bonds for development projects in Ohio.
The agency also manages and staffs separate organizations that provide additional types of funding to projects. These include:
• Western Reserve Development Fund: A private nonprofit organization established in 2021 to provide New Markets Tax Credit investments to economically disadvantaged communities. • Western Reserve Community Foundation: A private, nonprofit community development financial institution founded in 2019. WRCF provides financing and technical support to small and medium-sized businesses. • Energy Special Improvement District: A public nonprofit organization that provides Property Appraised Clean Energy (PACE) financing for commercial projects in Summit County.
Since 2000, the agencies and organizations that staff and manage have provided more than $882 million in funding to 341 projects in Ohio.
Who does DFA support?
DFA President Chris Burnham said, “61% of DFA projects are in economically disadvantaged communities,'' and “100% of Western Reserve Development Fund projects are in economically disadvantaged communities.'' It's being done,” he said.
Burnham said WRCF focuses on supporting minority- and women-owned businesses and nonprofits in economically disadvantaged communities. He said 47% of WRCF loan recipients had never taken out a commercial loan before.
DFA Vice Chair Rachel Bridenstine said WRCF works with borrowers to obtain loans and cannot say no outright to loan requests. The interest rate on WRCF does not exceed 4%, and the average is 3%.
In addition to the General Loan Fund, the nonprofit operates several programs, including the Minority Contractor Capital Access Program, the Summit County Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and the Akron Resilience Fund.
Christine Amer Meyer, president of the GAR Foundation, said the Minority Contractor Capital Access Program works with the Akron Urban League to award construction contracts to minority-owned contractors and provides funding and technical assistance to contractors. He said there was.
“I commend Rachel and the other partners at the Urban League for listening to the market and creating something that meets a need,” Meyer said.
Summit County Executive Eileen Shapiro called the program a “success story.”
“These companies, companies that were just starting out, were able to win multi-million dollar contracts and build them in collaboration with the Urban League and other partners in the community,” she said.
“At the Akron Resiliency Fund, we were responding to the needs of small businesses that have really struggled to keep their doors open since COVID-19,” Mayer added.
What are some of DFA's major projects?
The Amazon Distribution Center, located on the site of the former Rolling Acres Mall, is one of the Development Finance Authority's largest projects. DFA facilitated $155 million in bond financing for the construction project.
In 2001, the Port Authority purchased the Akron Civic Theater. The agency issued approximately $14 million in municipal bonds to expand operations and improve infrastructure.
The Port Authority also purchased the Akron Airdock in 2006 and funded environmental remediation to protect workers and the public from potentially toxic polychlorinated biphenyls. At the time, Lockheed Martin was leasing air docks. In 2022, DFA sold the air dock to Lighter Than Air for $1.5 million, Burnham said.
The Port Authority has poured $20 million into the Goodyear headquarters project from the Ohio Department of Development, Burnham said.
As part of the Bowery project, DFA raised funds to develop the Civic's Night Stage, grand lobby, box office, administration building, and deck observation deck. At the end of 2023, DFA transferred the box office, administration building and deck to a nonprofit organization that will manage the theater and property, Burnham said.
The newly renovated Civic will serve as the centerpiece of the $42 million Bowery development along South Main Street and West Bowery Street, which includes the revitalization of six previously vacant buildings.
Burnham said DFA was the underlying property owner of the project, and a complex array of funds flowed through it.
In Starke County, DFA provided a $10 million bond loan for the Hall of Fame Village project in Canton and a $4 million bond loan for the construction of the Shearer's Foods manufacturing facility in Massillon. The agency also facilitated a $6.5 million tax credit loan for the construction of the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank's Canton facility.
Many of the projects DFA has funded across Ohio involve partnerships with other development finance institutions, including the Port Authority of Toledo-Lucas County, Cleveland-Cuyahoga County, and Columbus-Franklin County. Projects funded range from the construction of a car park at the Bridge Park development in Dublin to the refurbishment of the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.
One of the WRCF investments announced was a loan to Black-owned HG Development. HG's purchase includes a mixed-use building in Akron's Kenmore neighborhood that will house Reggie Ray's BBQ facility and two apartments.
WRCF's Akron Resilience Fund also invested $525,000 in four businesses on Kenmore Boulevard. All of these businesses are owned by women, and three of them are owned by Black people.
