Land in the Lake Township/City of Toledo Joint Economic Development District will be for sale at a starting price of about $25,000 an acre.

Robert Mack, of Signature Associates, told the Lake Township trustees Tuesday his firm is completing a marketing study and pricing analysis of the 400 or so acres that comprise the development district.

The JEDD acreage covers the grounds of the Toledo Executive Airport, formerly Metcalf Field.

The property is owned by the City of Toledo and leased to the Toledo Lucas County Port Authority.

Mack, who was recently retained to market the JEDD property, told the trustees he considers the acreage on the perimeter of the air field well suited for businesses.

“It’s no secret it’s well poised for industrial development,” he said, noting utilities are already in place and the location is ideal for a business park.

During a meeting earlier that day of the JEDD board of directors, Mack said he began compiling data of the parcels to list on his company’s website. Eventually, aerial photos and plat maps will be included in the data base.

He told the trustees he had also been involved in the selling of many of the parcels in the Rockland subdivision, a business district near the intersection of State Route 795 and Lemoyne Road.

Richard Welling, a trustee, asked if tap fees for commercial sites charged by the Northwestern Water and Sewer District for fire hydrants and related fire suppression systems would be much of a deterrent to prospective businesses.

He told The Press the district initially set the fee for the new township administration building at about $90,000. The township opted for a smaller water line, he said, and has been negotiating with the district for a lower fee.

“I think it’s a real jobs killer,” he said.

Mark Hummer, the township’s police chief and administrator, said the fee “makes the economic development component more difficult.”

The board of directors of the JEDD has scheduled public meetings for Sept. 12 and Nov. 14 at 4:30 p.m.

The meetings will be held at the township’s administration building, 27975 Cummings Road.

Under the 30-year JEDD agreement, the city and township will share income tax revenues from jobs created at the district, with the township receiving 60 percent and the city receiving 40 percent.  The income tax rate will be 2.25 percent.

Other provisions include:
• If an existing business from Toledo relocates to the district, the city will retain all of the income tax until it recovers the amount of tax it received before the company relocated.

• The city and township each agree to provide $15,000 to meet initial costs.

• The JEDD territory is zoned M-1 light industrial and can’t be annexed during the term of the agreement.

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