The Avon Town Council on June 26 unanimously approved a CF-1 tax-abatement compliance form for the RISE development after hearing updates from town economic-development staff and the developer.

The council’s vote cleared a required annual certification tied to the project’s tax-abatement agreement. John Taylor, Economic Development, introduced the item and invited the developer’s representatives to address questions about construction delays, occupancy and job counts.

Developer representative Ethan Michael, identified in the meeting as the project CFO, told the council, “We have been open a year now out on Ronald Reagan. We are a year behind and I think that's what the concern is.” He said Phase 1 opened in May 2024, is about 75% occupied, and that the company has invested “almost $13,000,000 in the site.” He described plans for Phase 2 and Phase 3 with additional building and tenant space; he said phase 2 would add more tenant businesses and bring the park to an estimated 102 businesses and a projected employee count of about 510 after buildout.

Council members questioned the employee numbers after documents filed with the town appeared to show differing counts. Ethan Michael acknowledged a discrepancy in the form, saying the number he placed on the application reflected the incremental increase since the previous SB-1 filing and that he had omitted more recent tenant additions: “So that was my mistake.” Town staff and council members clarified that many of the employees are tenant employees rather than direct employees of the developer, a distinction the council said is important for evaluating compliance with the SB-1 tax-abatement standards.

John Taylor told the council he had asked Jim Sapp, the company owner and developer, to be present to answer questions. After discussion, a council member moved to approve the CF-1 form “as presented.” The motion passed on a roll call showing all five council members voting yes: Robert Pope, Don Loudon, Bill Holland, Jason Puckett and Greg Zuzin.

The approval is an annual procedural certification the town requires to confirm that recipients of local property-tax abatements are meeting the performance commitments in their SB-1 filings. At the meeting, the developer and staff said the project remains under construction and that some promised investment and occupancy milestones have been delayed but are expected to be met in the coming year.