FINANCING OPTIONS, CAPABILITIES, AND TOOLS SUPPORTING REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  • Direct Financing

    Through our Southwest Ohio Regional Bond Fund we can issue S&P rated bonds for a variety of uses. This mechanism offers access to long-term, fixed-rated financing for a variety of uses. Our direct financing complements financing sources of the capital stack. We are A- rated by S&P (February, 2023).

  • Public Improvements

We can help developers and jurisdiction finance public infrastructure projects such as streets, roads, underground utilities, sidewalks, street lights, landscaping, and public parking garages. This type of financing is particularly attractive for mixed-use developments and can be financed using tax increment (TIF) or a special assessment (often through a New Community Authority) as the revenue stream to pay for public improvements.

  • Energy

PACE is a national program that has been adapted by the State of Ohio to provide a financing vehicle for energy upgrades to existing and new buildings. PACE financing effectively allows property owners to borrow money to pay for energy improvements. The amount borrowed is repaid via a special assessment on the property over 10 to 25 years depending on the useful lives of the improvements being financed. This special assessment is collected with the property taxes. A mortgage is not required; nor does the loan need to be repaid if the property is sold. PACE investments enhance building value and competitiveness by lowering operating (energy) costs.

  • Real Estate Acquisition/Development

In addition to financing public and energy improvements, we can also help developers and municipalities by using these tools for both adaptive re-use and new construction. Our projects section lists many examples of such financings.

  • Company Expansion

We can also help companies and non-profits grow by assisting in the financing of new construction or facility construction.

  • Capital Leases Supporting Sales Tax Exemption Incentives

For projects with significant economic development impact, Port ownership of the real improvements can create a sales tax exemption on the raw materials used to create the improvements. To pass on this benefit, we use a capital lease structure which is compatible with both internal and external financing of the improvements.

  • Real Estate Acquisition and Sale For the Benefit of Units of Government

Because the Port is not subject to public bid requirements, we can facilitate the sale of real estate from public entities to private owners/developers while minimizing the possibility of speculation.

  • Conduit Bond Issuer

The Port Authority can serve as a conduit revenue bond issuer for many different types of transactions. These bonds are based on the credit worthiness of the borrower and may be backed by a letter of credit or purchased directly by a financial institution. We can issue tax-exempt debt and therefore issue tax-exempt conduit revenue bonds for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. Other forms of bonds include low income housing and eligible manufacturing projects.

CRITERIA

In evaluating direct financing opportunities, the Port Authority generally looks to the following criteria, among other elements of the project.

  • Project sponsor/beneficiary with established track record;

  • Financing structure that matches asset lives;

  • Typical borrower equity component of the transaction is at least 10%;

  • Available cash flow sufficient to support debt service with some room for variation; and

  • Demonstrated economic development impact for the region including new employment, employee retentions, targeted development areas, other discernable impacts.