City, Port form energy district

Financing could help local businesses

The renovation of the Broadway Building involves a financing method that eventually could help other businesses save money on energy costs in Lorain.

Staff of the city and the Lorain Port Authority met Oct. 23 to establish the Lorain Energy Special Improvement District Inc.

It is a nonprofit entity that will oversee a process in which property owners can borrow money to make improvements that will cut down energy use.

The public or private property owners then can pay for those upgrades through annual assessments.

The method is known as PACE financing, short for property assessed clean energy.

The Broadway Building is undergoing reconstruction to become the new Ariel on Broadway hotel and event center, a project of Ariel Ventures LLC, the company of Cleveland businesswoman Radhika Reddy.

It is the first project in Lorain to use that method of financing.

Staff of the city and the Lorain Port Authority met Oct. 23 to establish the Lorain Energy Special Improvement District Inc.

Now that the nonprofit board has started, other businesses in Lorain could join the district and use the same financing method to pay for energy improvements, said Tom Brown, executive director of the Port Authority.

The energy project assessments are new to Lorain, but other Ohio communities have used the approach, Brown said. Toledo, Summit County and NOPEC have PACE financing programs in place, he said.

The local meeting included Brown and Port Economic Development Specialist Tiffany McClelland, who will serve as the Lorain Energy Special Improvement District chairwoman.

Reddy will serve as vice chairwoman; she participated via telephone with Irene Zawadiwsky, a partner in the Ariel International Center and a voting member of the district.

Port Accountant Yvonne Smith will serve as district treasurer and Port Office Manager Kelsey Leyva will become secretary.

Lorain Building, Housing and Planning Director Kellie Glenn also will serve as a voting member; City Safety-Service Director Dan Given was present.

They discussed the legalities with Columbus attorney Colin Galvas.

Under Ohio law, the district is considered a public-private partnership and it is not a legal conflict of interest for property owners who use PACE financing also to serve on the governing board of the district, Galvas said.

Now that the nonprofit board has started, other businesses in Lorain could join the district and use the same financing method to pay for energy improvements, said Tom Brown, executive director of the Port Authority

The meeting took at least an hour to talk through and approve the needed resolu- tions that are required to establish the district. Future meetings likely will be quicker because the PACE financing process is more established.

The board will meet annually, but the staff and Galvas agreed if they need to meet more frequently because companies are investing in energy improvement projects, that would be good for Lorain.

RICHARD PAYERCHIN — THE MORNING JOURNAL Trucks and equipment are parked outside the Broadway Building Oct. 23 as workers rebuild a parking garage there. The city and Lorain Port Authority created a new district to help finance renovation of the hotel and eventually lead to money savings for other businesses.