Ohio OKs Tax Credit for Carvana Distribution Center

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A state tax credit worth an estimated $1.345 million to support a proposed Carvana LLC project in Elyria Township received approval Monday.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority awarded the eight-year, 1.368% Job Creation Tax Credit to support the project, which is projected to create 400 full-time equivalent employees generating $13.3 million in new annual payroll, as well as retain $8.4 million in existing payroll by the end of 2024 at the project location, according to documents provided by the Ohio Department of Development.

Carvana is an online platform that enables users to trade, finance, buy and sell used cars. It has car vending machines across the country, including in Ohio.

Ohio is competing with Indiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee for the proposed project, according to state documents.

The new facility will consist of a 200,000-square-foot inspection, reconditioning and distribution center to accommodate rising online auto sales, according to documents provided by TeamNEO, which worked with Carvana.

Fronting state Route 2 near I-90, it will become a part of the company’s growing national network, serving portions of the Midwest and East Coast markets.

“Had it not been for the determination and persistence of a wide array of local officials from Lorain County, Elyria Township and the cities of Elyria and Lorain, this opportunity very well could have landed elsewhere,” Team NEO said in its statement in support of the tax credit. “By all means, this was a complicated economic development project and the community really rallied together to meet the needs of the company. Their success was accomplished by building trust with Carvana’s site selection team and then executing on a long list of deliverables.”

Fixed asset investment would be toward building and land costs, along with new machinery and equipment.

The tax credit was one of five approved at the meeting that collectively are expected to create 574 new jobs, retain 1,058 jobs, result in more than $23 million in new payroll and spur more than $68 million in investments across Ohio.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.