It is a win for the public education system after MGM Northfield Park agreed to pay Nordonia Hills City School District $15 million for property tax settlement. In Ohio, public schools and taxing authorities can contest assessed property value previously determined by county auditors or local officials.
Nordonia Hills utilized this opportunity to contest that value.
The superintendent of Nordonia Hills, Joe Clark, explained that the School District was acting as a good steward of the community. Joe said that the school looks at commercial and industrial property values every year to find whether they were previously assessed optimally.
Fortunately, the school district did not have trouble reassessing MGM Northfield Park’s property value or reclaiming a new tax payment. This is because MGM Resorts that operates the racino agreed to renegotiate a new payment plan.
MGM Resorts runs the video lottery gaming machine in the racino. The 65,000 square foot gaming floor hosts 2300 gaming terminals, including slots machines. Through MGM Growth Properties, MGM real estate investment trust owns the gaming property’s land and other physical assets.
MGM Growth Properties completed the buying of Northfield Park in 2019. The investment trust bought the property for $1 billion from Hard Rock International.
Northfield Park is an excellent source of revenue for Ohio. The property garnered over $256 million before the Coronavirus hit the state in 2019. In July 2020 –June 2021, the property recorded a gross gaming revenue of $243.1 million.
Getting More Money
Located 15 miles southeast of Cleveland, the Northern Ohio school district did not agree with the MGM Northfield Park’s vacant land, racetrack, and stables’ value. Summit County has valued almost 80 acres of the property at $4.5 million. This evaluation did not cover 29 acres of the parking lot and the casino building.
MGM worked with the district to come up with a new assessment, including the horse-related resources. The two agree that MGM would pay a one-time tax of $15 million or $2.5 million every year until 2026. With the smooth turn of events, Clark thanked MGM for cooperating and agreeing to pay more money to the school district.
Clark noted that MGM had been an excellent corporate resident through the reassessment process. He also said that Nordonia Hills City School District had corrected the situation considering reasonable terms to maintain a progressive working relationship and benefits for the whole community.
MGM Is Committed to Bettering the Community
Speaking of why it opted to settle with the school district, MGM said it was committed to bettering the community. The gaming brand said it had paid $5.9 million in property taxes in the past three years. It promised to set an additional fee to help the school.
On Monday, the Nordonia Hills Board of Education voted to decide what the first check from MGM will pay for. The board agreed the money would go to the permanent improvement fund. This fund will be used to take care of long-term facility improvements when the need arises.
Nordonia Hills City School was the only public school without capital improvement money in Summit County. MGM is scheduled to pay the whole amount by March 2026, as noted in the new deal.
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