The city of Toledo is no longer pursuing a lawsuit against Toledo Spirits, LLC over unpaid taxes, saying that the company has now paid in full.
City marketing and communications director Gretchen DeBacker said the unpaid taxes were due to a “notice issue,” and that the company made its payment to the city as soon as owners were made aware.
According to the civil case filed in August, the city was owed about $18,000 in net profit tax in 2020. Interest and fees brought the number to more than $27,000 at the time of the complaint.
Toledo Spirits CEO Andrew Newby said the issue was a clerical error that was easy to resolve, and that he doesn’t anticipate it to have any impact on the company’s proposed development at the vacant 1301 Adams St. building.
On Wednesday, Toledo City Council’s planning and zoning committee reviewed a plan to designate the 108-year-old building originally built to be a Ford dealership as a historical landmark.
If approved by city council, the designation would allow Toledo Spirits to pursue state tax credits for the “urban village” project.
“This is just trying to get ahead on the tax credit opportunity that’s been typically under-utilized within Toledo,” Mr. Newby said in a phone interview Wednesday. “If we can bring these tax credits back to the 419, that’s good for everybody. It sets a new standard.”
The three-story space is expected to be packed with a multitude of amenities, including a brewpub, food hall, beer garden, a group games area, a small concert space, a rooftop hideout, and retail space. Mr. Newby has previously said that he expects work to begin on the building in the first quarter of 2023.
Mr. Newby did not attend the meeting Wednesday, and Councilman Vanice Williams sent the project forward to the full city council without a recommendation because she still has questions about the tax credits being received. She added that she expects to get those questions answered before a possible vote.
After the meeting, she said that she does not have an issue with the project moving ahead, with the tax issue having been resolved.
“I think it's an awesome project. I think we can move forward with layering up with funding,” she said. “With [Mr. Newby] not being here to ask the question, it kind of leaves it up in the air, so we want to ask the question, we want to make sure that everybody is doing their due diligence in uplifting Toledo.”
Council members could vote on the issue as soon as their next meeting on Sept. 27.
First Published September 14, 2022, 9:59 p.m.
