General Electric is officially moving 1,800 employees to The Banks, the entertainment and retail complex on Cincinnati’s riverfront. But it took some deal-sweetening by the city to make it happen.
City Council and Hamilton County Commissioners on June 23 approved a landmark deal that incentivizes the company to consolidate some administrative and finance jobs at the site, which will be 10 stories tall and cost about $90 million to build.
The city’s bid beat out Norwood and other locations, though the city and county had to offer one of the most generous deals in the region’s history to get it done.
The company will receive a 75-percent property tax abatement for the next 15 years, with the other 25 percent of those taxes going to Cincinnati Public Schools. Eighty-five percent of employees’ city earnings taxes will also flow back to the company over that period of time.
GE said the incentives are needed because moving to The Banks will be about 15 percent more expensive than other bids it considered. The city hopes the deal will lead to a long-term payoff.
County officials tout studies showing big benefits. The Economics Center for Education and Research at UC ran the numbers on the deal and suggests that the project could bring in $1 billion in overall economic activity. The site should reach full capacity by 2018.
The estimated average salary of an employee at the site will be about $79,000, company officials say.
Despite some questions about how quickly the deal came together, both council and the county commission passed it unanimously during an unusual joint meeting at Great American Ball Park. Council member P.G. Sittenfeld praised the project but noted the city will need to remember to balance fairness and overall impact in the future. Council member Chris Seelbach used the occasion to tout the streetcar, tweeting that it was a big factor in GE’s choice to move to The Banks.
