Dublin Lures Amazon With Free Land

The City of Dublin’s Economic Development Department proposes to give 68 acres of land on the city's west side, for free, to a web-based data company. Economic development director Colleen Gilger said the city has been in talks with Amazon subsidiary Vadata Inc. which offers Internet cloud storage. “We would be giving the land to the company in return for them meeting certain requirements, as far as job creation, the construction of new facilities, all within certain time frames," Gilger said. "We have several reversion clauses in there that does protect the city if the project doesn’t get off the ground.”

The land is worth $6.75 million. Amazon Web Services would not confirm whether Vadata Inc. is considering a location in Dublin. The company also would not confirm the project's investment, though it has been reported to be more than $1 billion. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson wrote the company constantly seeks opportunities to expand. Dublin's Gilger said she thinks the city council supports the project. She called the proposal innovative. “We’re a community that does not offer property tax abatements. So...we often compete against it," she said. "So we try to find create ways to attract new companies to the Columbus region without having to do large tax abatements.”

The city, however, has proposed a payroll tax incentive. Gilger said the city would return up to $500,000 to the company over 10 years dependent upon job growth. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 100 percent, 15-year data center sales tax exemption for a Vadata Inc. expansion project. It is expected to create about 120 jobs and generate about $9.6 million in annual payroll. Gilger said the project's payoff would be instant. She said the city-owned property has been used as farmland for years, and she said the facilities that would be built on it would generate property tax revenue for schools and other agencies. She also expects the move would encourage spin-off business. “We’ve seen with the IBM data analytics center coming to the Dublin area...and the growth in the I-T sector just in general in central Ohio. We believe we’re becoming a national leader in that industry. This just adds to it.”