The Upper Arlington City Council on Monday approved a development agreement with National Church Residences (NCR) and Upper Arlington Schools that lays out incentives, payroll and tax commitments, and property transfers to support a phased redevelopment of NCR’s campus, but residents at the meeting pressed the city for additional detail about lake access, easements and neighborhood impacts.

The development agreement — approved by council as Ordinance 28‑2025 on third reading — authorizes city incentives including a parcel‑by‑parcel tax increment financing (TIF) arrangement and a $1,000,000 grant from the city’s economic development fund tied to the first phase’s certificate of occupancy. City Manager Shoney summarized the agreement as "a three‑party agreement between the city, the Upper Arlington schools, as well as National Church Residences," and finance staff described payroll and tax commitments contained in the document.

The nut graf: under the signed agreement, NCR guarantees job and payroll commitments and agrees to a series of property and program commitments while the city and schools agree to a TIF structure and a grant. Residents asked for clarifications about a 15‑foot maintenance easement along the lake, deed restrictions, lake maintenance arrangements, building massing and privacy mitigation; staff and NCR representatives described proposed concessions and next steps on design and maintenance.

Key commitments in the agreement, as described at the meeting:
- NCR guarantees retaining about $21,200,000 in gross annual payroll subject to Upper Arlington city income tax for 12 years and agrees to grow gross payroll by $5,250,000 starting in year five of that period and maintain the higher threshold through year 12, city finance staff said.
- NCR agreed to create and transfer to the city a separate parcel adjacent to the north portion of the lake to accommodate a shared‑use path and to record an age‑restriction deed term (55+) on residential uses in the agreement, the city said.
- NCR agreed to enter into a 30‑year lease with the third‑party office building developer and to make service payments to Upper Arlington Schools equal to at least the property taxes schools received in February 2024.
- The city agreed to implement a parcel‑by‑parcel test TIF that would leave roughly 55% of property tax to schools (the city described this as about a 40–44% TIF) and to provide a $1,000,000 economic development grant upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy for phase 1 and verification that employees have been relocated to the headquarters.

City finance staff reported return‑on‑investment estimates tied to the agreement: a 642% ROI based on the agreement alone and a 2,686% ROI if the 30‑year lease and TIF window remain in effect, figures staff said are calculated from payroll and tax commitments in the document.

Public comment at the council meeting focused on a handful of neighborhood concerns. Residents of Concord Village raised questions about the lake’s maintenance easement and deed language; City Attorney Schulman told council that a deed restriction recorded for a Concord Village lot would govern that lot only and would not, by itself, bar development on adjacent property. He said the plat language that disclaims city responsibility for lake maintenance does not prevent the city from voluntarily assuming maintenance after property transfer and that the plat can be modified by city action.

Residents also asked about the location and control of existing utility easements along Arlington Center Boulevard and Northbank Drive, where fiber, sanitary and gas lines and an AEP electric easement are present. Assistant City Manager Theo explained that moving easements in a fully developed area is difficult because multiple utilities own rights in the corridor and some utilities could refuse relocation even if the city offered compensation.

NCR representatives described design concessions and mitigation they say they have offered in response to neighbors’ concerns: reduced balcony coverage on some floors, screening for the parking podium to reduce headlight glare, retention of mature trees where possible, and an offer to reimburse a small number of directly affected homeowners for off‑site landscaping at homeowners’ discretion. NCR said the residential phases will include podium parking rather than underground parking because of cost and groundwater considerations; NCR noted that underground parking would be significantly more expensive and face engineering challenges next to the pond.

Council members discussed possible temporary and permanent changes to local street access during construction. Assistant City Manager Theo said staff could survey residents about whether to pilot closing the northern Arlington Center Boulevard access and instead route local access from the south during construction; police and fire leaders reviewed the idea and did not object to a south‑side access plan for local emergency response, staff said.

Council members stressed that additional public outreach and design work will follow. City staff said detailed park and path design will be done through the city’s parks design process with outside consultants and public input; staff emphasized they would present options and recommendations to council and that the city would not build water‑based recreational structures on the lake, beyond modest, land‑based fishing accommodations.

At the end of the meeting council voted to approve the ordinance authorizing the development agreement. The council’s approval starts a sequence of future land use and site approvals: the Board of Zoning and Planning will review the major site plan and a recommended plat amendment on September 17, and additional planning, design and permitting steps remain before construction.

Council and staff repeatedly told residents that many details — final path alignment, maintenance arrangements for the lake parcel, precise final building details and construction phasing — would be resolved in subsequent design and permitting steps, and they invited neighbors to participate in those processes.