CINCINNATI — Hamilton County taxpayers have pledged nearly $30 million to move a concrete-mixing plant away from Paycor Stadium. Now, Cincinnati taxpayers are being asked to chip in millions more to build a replacement facility in Sedamsville.
Hilltop Basic Resources Inc. asked the city to help it close a $6.9 million funding gap for a new riverfront plant on Southside Ave. west of downtown, according to an application for a commercial tax abatement obtained in a public record request by the WCPO 9 I-Team.
The application says it will cost $24.7 million to relocate 45 to 50 jobs from Hilltop’s current site on Water Street to a 17-acre site in the 3200 block of Southside Ave.
That’s less than the $29.75 million Hamilton County agreed to pay for Hilltop’s riverfront land in 2019 as part of a land swap that enabled the construction of the Andrew J. Brady Music Center at the Banks. But it's more than the $17.85 million the company has yet to be paid by Hamilton County.
“The amount of the gap exceeds Hilltop’s present borrowing capacity,” said the application. “Additional owner equity to fill the funding gap is not available as it would put an undue burden on (owner) John Steel Jr.”
City council has yet to be notified of the request and Councilman Jeff Cramerding isn’t sure the city’s economic development staff would approve tax breaks for the relocation. It would create no new jobs but would retain 45 jobs that pay an average of $59,800 per year, according to the application.
"I hope a relocation package is negotiated that includes Riverside and surrounding neighborhoods,” Cramerding said. “This issue is not before council. It will only go to council if additional financial incentives or abatements were part of the package. I don't believe that this will happen or that there would be support for it."
The Sedamsville Civic Association endorsed the relocation more than a year ago, Vice President Cindy Bastin said. But she adds there is neighborhood concern about increased traffic on River Road from an Amazon distribution hub in nearby Riverside.
“My opinion was, it will bring jobs to the area. We need that,” Bastin said. “It can’t get any worse than what Amazon is right now.”
Hilltop has been exploring a relocation from Cincinnati’s central riverfront since 2017, President Kevin Sheehan told the I-Team in April, but neighborhood opposition forced the company away from sites in Queensgate and Lower Price Hill. Although he declined to reveal a specific location, Sheehan told the I-Team he was focused on a riverfront site inside city limits where neighborhood leaders gave the company “good feedback” about its relocation plans.
Sheehan did not return requests for comment on Wednesday.
“We’ve done title work, we’re still doing some environmental work on that property and we still have some permitting work that we will have to do when we reach the stage that we’re ready for that,” Sheehan said in April. “We’re further along in the due diligence process than we ever were on the other sites that we were looking at back in 2019."
Hamilton County has already paid Hilltop $11.9 million for riverfront land it has vacated as part of a deal to replace parking spaces the Cincinnati Bengals lost when the Brady Center was built. That space is where the Bengals built a temporary indoor practice facility and where fans park during game days.
The county has until next August to buy the remaining parcel where Hilltop continues to operate, south of Mehring Way. That site could be used for more fan parking or a permanent team practice facility.
But that can't happen if Hilltop has nowhere to go.
"Hilltop has searched and evaluated a number of relocation sites for suitability," the company explained in attachments to its tax-abatement application. "Important criteria for a suitable relocation site include Ohio River access for unloading sand, gravel and limestone used in the manufacturing of ready-mix concrete, and close proximity to central Cincinnati, including its Downtown district, as this is Hilltop’s core market and customer base."
Hilltop is planning to pay $17.8 million for construction and $6.9 million for property acquisition on Southside Ave near Boldface Park. The construction budget includes a 25% contingency reserve for unexpected costs.
“Inflation not seen in the last ~40 years has significantly impacted the costs of construction,” the application said. “The current cost estimate of a ready-mix concrete manufacturing plant is ~2x the cost from three years ago.”
The property-acquisition price is more than three times its current value, according to Hamilton County’s auditor. Records show Pittsburgh-based Watco Transloading LLC purchased the three-parcel site for $409,000 in 2015. The auditor values the property at $1.9 million.
