Kent City Council approved a community reinvestment area (CRA) agreement to support Enterprise Rent‑A‑Car’s planned renovation and relocation to 1225 West Main Street.

Eric, a community development staff member, told the council the total project investment is just over $14.4 million and that about $2.3 million of the investment would be eligible for the 75% real‑property tax exemption for 12 years. “This renovation project falls under the CRA program that exempts the real property tax on the new commercial property investment,” Eric said.

Eric said the move keeps nine full‑time and one part‑time position at the Kent location, consolidates an outside‑of‑city location and will bring additional employees into the city limits, producing an estimated annual net new payroll of about $1.4 million. John Zukulov, a Northern Ohio territory representative for Enterprise, said the company is “excited to be going from a tenant to an owner operator in the city” and thanked city staff for assistance through the process.

Councilmember discussion focused on the jobs retained and the mix of full‑time and part‑time work. Council moved to authorize the CRA agreement with an emergency clause; a voice vote was taken and the item was approved on the floor.

The agreement does not require school board approval, staff said, and the schools were notified.

Council directed staff to finalize the agreement documents and return any final execution documents to the city clerk for signature and filing.