North Canton nearing deal to develop former Hoover Co. factory into apartments, retail

NORTH CANTON − Developers have until April 2027 to finish building the long-delayed apartments and retail space in the former Hoover Co. west factory under a negotiated 30-year tax-break agreement with the city.

Mayor Stephan Wilder and city officials presented the terms of the deal to City Council on Monday night.

The developers, Stuart Lichter and Chris Semarjian through their venture Maple Street Commerce, are seeking to redevelop the nearly 500,000-square-foot former factory on the northeast corner of North Main Street and East Maple Street.

The $67 million project would involve about 226 market-rate apartments and 45,000 square feet of restaurant, commercial and retail space. The project is expected to lead to at least 50 full-time jobs, a payroll of $2 million and at least $30,000 a year in income tax revenue for the city.

Related: 10 acres of land and $2.5M coming to North Canton schools over Hoover Co. redevelopment

The city's public policy analyst, Benjamin Young, gave a nearly 35-minute presentation outlining details of the project. City Council is expected to vote on final approval of the deal at its March 25 meeting.

Construction would start by August.

But under the agreement, to get the tax break, the developers must start construction by April 2025. The exterior is estimated to be done by June 2026 with the project substantially complete by April 30, 2027.

During the deal's 30 years, the North Canton School District, the city and other governmental entities expect to keep all the property taxes they collect now from the site, which is now assessed at a value of $2.5 million.

The development is estimated to increase the value of the property to $20 million. Under the tax-increment financing agreement, the developers would pay an amount equal to the property taxes they would owe on that $17.5 million to the Stark County Auditor.

The auditor would pay that money, about $459,725 a year, to North Canton or a total of $13.79 million over 30 years. North Canton would keep the money in a special fund. And the city, after reimbursing its administrative costs up to $20,000 the first year, with that amount to increase 5% a year, would pay the project's lenders owed repayments and reimburse developers the costs of development with money from that fund.

Related: 'We don't have unlimited patience.' North Canton officials push Hoover development

Maple Street Commerce must provide an itemized list to the city of project costs, proof of payment to contractors and proof that no liens have been placed on it.

The North Canton City Schools' share of the $13.79 million is expected to have been at least $5.5 million. The school district agreed March 1 not to object to the tax-increment financing arrangement if the developers turn over more than 10 acres of property worth about $3 million north of Witwer Street NE by October. If the developers line up more than $55 million in financing, they will pay the district $2.5 million.

The deal is off if the developers don't obtain sufficient financing by Dec. 31.

Related: Hoover District developers seek new tax deal with North Canton; land transfer part of deal

More details of the North Canton deal with Maple Street Commerce

Other terms of the agreement:

• The city can, after giving a written warning, can end the tax break and withhold reimbursement of developers' costs if developers don't comply with the terms; the developers violate city building codes; the developers abandon the project prior to completion; or if Maple Street Commerce is dissolved as a corporate entity or developers file for bankruptcy.

• The developers must pay prevailing wage to those who work on any element of the project such as improvement to roads or public right of way that eventually becomes city property. An example of this is where the developers plan to build a sidewalk along Witwer Street with decorative lighting.

• The developers must obtain all required permits and certificates of occupancy; get a specified amount of insurance coverage for the project; correct all code violations for the site by Dec. 31 to waive about $90,000 in outstanding fines; and provide an in-person update to city officials on the project at least once every three months.

• The developers must proceed with construction of all segments simultaneously. They can't build the apartments first or build the commercial and retail space first.

• The city has the right with notice to inspect the site at any reasonable time and a representative of the developers, knowledgeable about the project, must be on site at those times.

• The city is not obligated to change its zoning code or grant variances to accommodate the project. And it will not provide any additional financial assistance to the project.

• The agreement transfers to a new owner if the developers sell the Hoover factory property.

"This is an important part of the agreement," said council President Matthew Stroia, at-large. "They can't go buy toilets for the Hoover District and use them at the Hall of Fame Village (one of Lichter's projects). ... We've built a very strong agreement to protect our taxpayers, our city."

Council voted to advance the agreement to a final vote on March 25.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. X formerly Twitter: @rwangREP.

Correction: Maple Street Commerce, under a tax increment financing agreement, will pay to the Stark County Auditor an amount equal to what property taxes would be owed on any increased value in the west Hoover factory site due to development. The auditor will distribute that money to North Canton, which will keep the money in a special fund and reimburse Maple Street Commerce out of that fund for development costs. A prior version of this article incorrectly described who would maintain the special fund.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: North Canton reaches Hoover tax-break deal with Maple Street Commerce