Columbus City Council is expected Monday night to approve a 15-year, 100% tax abatement for Nationwide Children's Hospital to build a for-profit gene therapy center.
Andelyn Biosciences would manufacture gene therapy products as part of Ohio State University's West Innovation Campus.
If the legislation passes, Andelyn would be exempt from paying taxes on any land improvements to Columbus City Schools for that time period.
The center would cost about $64 million to construct, and Nationwide Children's expects it will need to hire 150 employees before it can turn a profit.
The school district negotiated with Nationwide Children's Hospital to provide at least five additional clinicians to work during regular school hours.
Andelyn's facility would be the first of its kind in Central Ohio. Andelyn would still pay millions in income and land taxes to the city and school district – more than is currently being produced, but less than would be collected if the project went through without the abatement.
The deal is opposed by the Columbus teachers’ union, which has questioned why a profitable company like Nationwide Children's needs tax incentives.
After approving the abatement proposal in February, the Columbus School Board announced the launch of a committee analyzing how it approaches tax abatements.
