Panera Bread expected in Zanesville

ZANESVILLE — As bulldozers work to clear the land for the expected location of a new Panera Bread at the corner of Frazeysburg Road and Northpointe Drive, city officials are working out a deal that will lead to corresponding construction in the surrounding area.

Panera representatives have remained silent on the matter and have not returned requests for comment, while city council has yet to vote on a plan that would allow for the construction of entrances and road work for the  Panera.

But no matter — the work has already begun.

Last week Mark Helmes, interim site supervisor for the Panera construction job, stood on a mound overlooking the $650,000 plot of land, noting where new entrances will be built, possibly with the help of city support.

"Right now we're just getting everything cleared away before we can get the building pad put in," Helmes said.  "Once that's done, we'll be able to begin in earnest on the actual construction of the building."

In addition to the building itself, the two new entrances planned for the construction job will connect the Panera location with Northpointe Drive and Frazseyburg Road.

The construction of the Panera location was originally expected to be finished by January, according to a report submitted to the original property owner at the start of summer. But slow progress on negotiations with city officials has delayed that early estimate, with a possible completion date now slated for sometime around February or March, according to Kim Benincasa, the broker for the original property owner.

That partnership with the city — known technically as tax increment financing — would allow for the seller and buyer of the location to cover all costs of road work on city property up front.  Later, if the deal goes through, the city will shave off a portion of the location's property tax as a means of paying them back for the work, although the portion of the property tax that goes toward local schools would not be affected, according to Zanesville Public Service Director Jay Bennett.

"Getting everything figured out in that regard has slowed things down, but it looks like everything will go according to plan from here on out," said Benincasa. "And based on the developer's past work, they will get things going very quickly once they have everything ready to go."

The plot of land was sold by 310 Charter, an affiliate of the Downing Companies, and purchased by ARS Property Acquisitions, a developer based in Cincinnati.

epsmith@gannett.com

740-450-6772

Twitter: @evansmithreport