Enterprise Zone
Allen County has an established Enterprise Zone, which enables companies to seek tax exemptions for new investment. The Enterprise Zone program allows for an agreement between a business and community establishing a tax exemption for a portion of the value of the new property value when the investment includes job creation. The agreement must be finalized before the project begins. The Enterprise Zone guidelines allow for:

Municipalities to offer the following incentives:
Exemption of real and/or personal property assessed values of up to 75% for up to 10 years or an average of 60% over the term of the agreement on new investments in buildings, machinery/equipment and inventory and improvements to existing land and buildings for a specific project.

The Enterprise Zone law permits unincorporated areas to offer the following incentives:
Exemption of real and/or personal property assessed values of up to 60% for up to 10 years or an average of 50% over the term of the agreement on new investments in buildings, machinery/equipment and inventory and improvements to existing land and buildings for a specific project.

Maximum exemption levels may be exceeded with approval by the affected board of education. These approved thresholds may be up to 100 % exemption for up to 15 years.

Community Reinvestment Area
The Ohio Community Reinvestment Area program is an economic development tool that provides real property tax exemptions for property owners who renovate existing or construct new buildings. CRAs are areas of land in which property owners can receive tax incentives for investing in real property improvements. The local legislative authority with jurisdiction over the area determines the size, number and the term of the property exemption. Local municipalities determine the type of development to be supported by the CRA Program, including residential, commercial and/or industrial. The cities of Lima and Delphos and the village of Spencerville have established CRAs.

D’Arcy Loan
The D’Arcy Loan Fund is a local funding source for businesses expanding or locating to Allen County. The fund provides low interest loans to assist with Allen County economic development projects. Loan amounts are subject to the availability of funds and should be used as gap financing in conjunction with commercial lending.

Preference is given to companies that create jobs, however any viable business plan will be considered.

Allen County Revolving Loan
The Allen County Revolving Loan Fund is a flexible source of financing for businesses expanding or locating to Allen County. Loan amounts are subject to the availability of funds.

BetterBuildings Northwest Ohio
Building owners are eligible for low-cost financing to pay for high-efficiency improvements to their facilities and building systems, including lighting, high-efficiency HVAC, building envelope, energy management systems and controls, compressed air and refrigeration. The program is offered through the Toledo Port Authority and the financing is offered at a competitive rate with terms up to 15 years. Payback is semi-annual through an energy improvement special assessment on property taxes.

Capital Lease Program
The Port Authority of Allen County offers a Capital Lease program that allows a company to be exempted from sales tax (6.85%) on all construction materials during a building project.

Opportunity Zones
The federal Opportunity Zone program encourages investors with recently realized capital gains to reinvest those gains in local business, real estate or development projects in exchange for a reduction in their tax obligations. The city of Lima has three Opportunity Zones, primarily located in downtown.

JobsOhio Inclusion Grant
This program offers gap funding for projects at qualifying companies. Project parameters include:

• Revenue cap of $25 million
• Company is business to business
• Company must have been operational for at least one year and have a revenue minimum of $100,000
• Must be in a JobsOhio targeted industry sector: advanced manufacturing, aerospace and aviation, automotive, autonomous mobility, energy and chemicals, food and agribusiness, healthcare, logistics and distribution, financial services, technology.
• Project should create jobs and involve investment by the company.
• Eligible companies include those that are minority owned (African American, Hispanic, Asian Pacific or Native American), woman-owned, owned by an individual with a disability or owned by a veteran.
• Companies located in a designated distressed area also qualify, which includes those located in the following zip codes: 45801, 45804, 45805, or 45887.
• No retail, residential and multi-family uses, entertainment or other population-driven businesses are eligible.
• This is a reimbursement-based grant.
• The program may provide up to $50,000 in grant funds.

Several economic development incentives are offered through JobsOhio, Ohio’s private economic development corporation. The team at AEDG assists companies with the application process.