LIBERTY CENTER TIMELINE
2008: Liberty Town Square project proposed and planned unit development approved by Liberty Twp.
Jan. 2012: Memorandum of understanding reached between Butler County, Liberty Twp. and Steiner + Associates over public financing for infrastructure, worth approximately $35 million
Feb. 2012: Steiner buys first tract of land for the project, 50 acres for approximately $8 million
Sept. 2012: Journal-News learns that the center's opening is delayed until 2015
April 24, 2013: Steiner + Associates, Dillard's announce the department store has signed a lease, the first tenant
April 25, 2013: Steiner + Associates presents new site plans to joint county and township government meeting. Changes made include going from three anchor tenants to two anchor tenants, and one junior tenant, among others
May 20, 2013: Steiner + Associates announces the second major tenant for Liberty Center to be dinner-and-movie theater CineBistro
July 25, 2013: Steiner + Associates, Butler County and Liberty Twp. sign Master Development Agreement for $43 million ($25 million commitment from county and township) in public financing
Oct. 2013: The Liberty Twp. Zoning Commission approves the final planned unit development plan for the first phase of Liberty Center
Nov. 25, 2013: Butler County Commissioners approve to move a deadline of Nov. 1, 2013 to March 1, 2014 for certain contingencies written into the Master Development Agreement signed in July. The project missed the Nov. 1 target date set for securing financing, and reaching firm commitments with more tenants
Feb. 10, 2014: Butler County Commissioners approved an extension of the county's water and sewer lines to the property
Feb. 28, 2014: Developer buys rest of land for mega Liberty Twp. retail center
March 1, 2014: Developers and local governments miss a March 1 deadline to issue a bond, borrowing money for the public taxpayer contribution/incentives to the project
March 7, 2014: Pizza restaurant named for Liberty Center development
March 18, 2014: AC Hotels by Marriott, Steiner + Associates announce 130-room hotel for Liberty Center
May 9, 2014: Liberty Center's third and final anchor is announced to be Dick's Sporting Goods
Butler County Commissioners and Liberty Twp. Trustees are crossing off their list of requirements to be met before issuing bonds and borrowing money to help pay for the mega retail development Liberty Center.
The list includes: having the project’s private financing in place; for so many anchor tenants to have signed leases; and for a quality mix of in-line retail tenants to be approved by the local governments, according to a Master Development Agreement reached July 2013 by Butler County, Liberty Twp. and developer Steiner + Associates of Columbus. The contingencies have to be met before bonds committing up to $31 million in taxpayer dollars to the project are issued, said Commissioner Don Dixon.
A total of up to $43 million in public dollars was committed to the project by last year’s agreement also including a $12 million loan approved by Ohio Water Development Authority.
To date, several requirements have been met, including the developer purchasing all the land for the project’s first phase, and forming a homeownership association to control fees generated by property users. The association, Liberty Community Authority, will also be part of any bond issues.
The full list of requirements yet to be met — before public funds are released — is cited as confidential, handled by a private attorney hired by county government to represent them in negotiations, and the developer’s attorneys.
A majority of the project cost, a total of approximately $350 million, will be paid for privately.
But the Journal-News has learned one requirement that still needs satisfied is for the developer to close on their construction loan.
“They have to have their equity financing in place. That’s one of the hundreds of things that have to be met,” Dixon said.
“Our legal people are saying things are falling in place and they look fine, but before we can move forward we have to make certain tax dollars are protected,” Dixon said. “We have to be satisfied. Our list of contingencies have to be complete.”
“Quite frankly, the county has been very particular about making sure all those contingencies are filled before moving forward,” he said.
A deal is close, said Butler County Administrator Charlie Young.
“We’re very comfortable that they have everything in place, they just haven’t dotted the last ‘I’ and crossed the last ‘T,’” Young said. “Once they do that, we’ll then be able to move forward. We’re very close, it’s a very tight coordination and time frame that they have to complete some final acts.”
Construction has already started on Liberty Center, the mixed shopping, dining, residential and office complex under construction in Liberty Twp. at the intersection of Interstate 75, Ohio 129 and Liberty Way. More than 1 million-square-feet is being built on about 65 acres.
The work to install pipes and other underground infrastructure on site is being paid for by Steiner.
The bonds won’t be issued “until we tell them here’s the date we want to close on our construction loans,” said Beau Arnason, executive vice president for Steiner. “And the loan can’t be closed unless they know the bonds are there.”
However, the bond issue is not holding up any progress on the project, Arnason said.
“The timing of the closing of those things is irrelevant to the schedule,” and Liberty Center is still on track to open in fall 2015, he said.
When the Journal-News asked Liberty Twp. officials if they were confident the developer had the tenants and the money, the response was yes and that parties are doing due diligence prior to any bond issuance.
“We have no reason to believe they are not going to deliver on both of those items. We are confident they are in the final stages,” said Caroline McKinney, the township’s economic development director.
“There is nothing concerning to us at all. In fact, just the opposite; we’re encouraged by the progress they’re making,” McKinney said.
Commissioner T.C. Rogers said, “there’s no flags which have come up.”
Described as the “Easton of Cincinnati,” and one of the biggest development deals in Butler County history, anchor tenants announced so far for Liberty Center are Dillard’s department store, dinner-and-movie theater CineBistro, and most recently Dick’s Sporting Goods. Other named tenants include pizza restaurant Pies & Pints and AC Hotels by Marriott.
Liberty Center will consist of 75,000-square-feet of Class A office; 98,000-square-feet of restaurant and dining, and 250,000-square-feet of residential space.
Original project cost estimates were that the total investment would exceed $300 million. Developers are now stating estimated costs to be closer to about $350 million.
Steiner representatives recently attended a retail industry trade show hosted by International Council of Shopping Centers in Las Vegas where Liberty Center was promoted.
“It’s a huge project in terms of its exposure nationally,” Arnason said. “Honestly there’s a handful, literally a handful of projects in the entire country of this size, scope and stature that are being developed right now.”
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