Members of the North Royalton Chamber of Commerce and City Officials joined CEO of Kent Corporation, Dean Costello, as they broke ground on the company’s upcoming expansion. The addition will add 22,000 square feet to the existing facility. Kent Corporation designs and manufactures steel processing equipment. Its main offices are located in the York Alpha Industrial Park, at 9601 York Alpha Drive.
“We appreciate Mr. Costello’s investment,” said North Royalton Community Development Director, Tom Jordan. “He’s a long-time North Royalton business, building a larger-than-expected facility, and we appreciate his investment.” Costello has stated that although there have been other offers to relocate, the company will remain in North Royalton as their permanent residence.
Kent Corporation has been a North Royalton business for forty years, located in the City’s York Alpha Industrial Park. According to their website, “Since 1971, Kent Corporation has led the tubing, roll forming, stamping and strip processing industries around the world with our quality machinery, advanced engineering and unmatched customer service. . . With a complete line of entry and finishing equipment, we’re your single-source supplier for the tube and pipe mill industry, as well as the roll forming, stamping and strip processing industries.”
In 2022, the North Royalton City Council approved legislation that allows for a tax incentive that will spur the expansion of a business that has been in the City for several years. The legislation was introduced by Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz and co-sponsored by Council President Paul Marnecheck, which authorized the Mayor to enter into an agreement with TMRD, Ltd., and lessee Kent Corporation, for Community Reinvestment Area Tax Incentives.
A Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) is an area where tax incentives may be available to property owners for investing in real property improvements. The Community Reinvestment Area Program can assist property owners who wish to renovate an existing structure, or construct a new building. The City of North Royalton updated their incentive program in 2015, in order to remain competitive in not only attracting new business to the City, but to help retain current businesses. In 2015, an ordinance that created a Community Reinvestment Area, establishing the boundaries, was adopted by City Council. Under the CRA Program, those owning or leasing retail, office or industrial properties can apply. The abatement terms can be longer than those under the Enterprise Zone Program. Under this program, the entire city is designated as a CRA.
With the approval of the Community Reinvestment Area Tax Incentives agreement, TMRD, Ltd., who owns the property, and lessee, Kent Corporation, had agreed to construct a new 15,000 square foot office facility addition for expansion, with a total investment of $1,200,000.00. That includes $900,000 for additions/new construction, $35,000 for existing building improvements, $15,000 for machinery and equipment, $20,000 for furniture and fixtures and $250,000 for inventory. In addition, Kent Corporation has agreed to add four new hires.
According to the agreement, Kent Corporation would begin the project on February 15, 2022, with construction and acquisition to be completed by January 1, 2023. According to Jordan, the project was delayed a couple of years by the Army Corp of Engineers, due to having some wetlands on the property. Jordan said he checked with both the City’s Law Department and officials at Cuyahoga County to ensure the agreement could be extended. He said that both agreed the project could move forward. TMRD, Ltd., and Kent Corporation agreed to create, within a time period not to exceed 24 months after the conclusion of the construction, the four, full-time employment positions. According to the agreement, “This addition will allow space for Kent Corporation to hire four new full time permanent employees at the facility. The additional four employees’ payroll costs will be approximately $300,000 per year. Kent Corporation currently stores a portion of their inventory in an offsite facility in Shelby, Ohio. The new building addition will allow this inventory to be stored onsite for accessibility without need for additional freight costs between the two facilities. The freight cost between facilities is approximately $2,800/month ($33,600/year) on average and the storage rent fees for the offsite facility is $4,550/month ($54,600/year) on average.” “Actually, the building will be larger than what he is required to do,” said Jordan. He also will be adding more hires. He added that the agreement will still be for fifteen years, but the abatement will not start until after the addition has been completed.
According to the agreement, a fifteen-year, 49 percent tax exemption for real property improvements made, has been granted by the City, under the Community Reinvestment Area agreement. “The exemption commences the first year for which the Real Property exemption would first be taxable were that property not exempted from taxation. No exemption shall commence before January 1, 2023 nor extend beyond December 31, 2038,” according to the agreement.
“I would like to thank the Kent Corporation for their many years of being a successful business in our community,” said North Royalton Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz. “I am especially pleased that they have decided to expand their investment in the City and wish them continued growth and prosperity.”

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer