Port authority weighs sales-tax exemptions for Newman, Mansfield Forward development projects

Richland County commissioners are weighing a new layer of public aid for Newman Technology's Mansfield expansion and the Mansfield Forward downtown redevelopment: port-authority financing that could exempt qualifying construction purchases from sales tax.

Commissioners discussed port-authority term sheets for both projects at their Aug. 7, 2026, meeting. A port authority meeting was expected during the week of Aug. 24 to review and potentially approve them. The arrangement would use the port authority to make construction materials and equipment eligible for sales-tax exemptions, lowering material costs during development.

At least $104 million in combined investment is involved, raising the central accountability question for Richland County taxpayers: How much public revenue will be forgone, and what jobs and community benefits will commissioners deliver in return?

Newman Technology, a subsidiary of Japan's Sankei Giken Kogyo Co., Ltd., is seeking support for a $74 million manufacturing expansion at its 100 Cairns Road facility in Mansfield. The expansion includes a new building addition of 24,500 to 25,500 square feet with a 1,500-ton stamping press, with construction scheduled to begin in September 2026 and finish by October 2027.

Mansfield Forward, meanwhile, would remake part of downtown near the Brickyard by restoring 14 historic buildings, converting upper floors into 102 apartments and adding roughly 50,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The Richland County Foundation is holding and stewarding donated historic buildings transferred to support community-led redevelopment, while The Windsor Companies is handling development execution. Reports describe Mansfield Forward as a roughly $30 million effort, with construction expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026 and finish in late 2027.

The county created the Richland County Port Authority on June 10, 2026. Commissioners Cliff Mears, Darrell Banks and Tony Vero unanimously supported its creation; Mears introduced the resolution, Banks seconded it, and all three voted to approve.

Under Ohio port-authority sales-tax exemptions, the port authority typically becomes the owner of a project during construction, allowing building materials purchased for the project to qualify as tax-exempt. The exemption typically covers only materials that become part of the finished structure, not labor or business fixtures; labor generally is not subject to sales tax anyway.

The combined sales-tax rate in Richland County is 7.00%, consisting of the 5.75% Ohio state sales tax and a 1.25% Richland County local rate. Typical estimates for Ohio port-authority exemptions assume about 50% of a construction project's hard costs are materials eligible for the exemption.

Commissioners have pointed to economic-development benefits. The Newman expansion is expected to add about 70 jobs, retain 627 existing jobs and generate about $3.5 million in new annual payroll. Mansfield Forward is expected to create about 160 construction jobs and 12 to 14 permanent full-time operational jobs once stabilized.

Both projects have already secured other public incentives. Newman Technology received a 1.225% six-year Job Creation Tax Credit from the Ohio Department of Development, and Mansfield City Council approved Community Reinvestment Area property-tax agreements for the expansion. Mansfield Forward received $5 million in state historic tax credits for redevelopment.

Matt Gribben, presenting to commissioners about the benefits of a local port authority, said the financing structure could also keep associated fees in the county.

"Instead of those fees going to a Toledo port or Sandusky port or a place like that, they stay right here in Richland County," Gribben said.

The Richland County Port Authority closed three deals totaling an estimated $32 million in projects within its first six weeks of operation, according to a July 2026 report from the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.

The authority's growing role also brings public-access requirements. Ohio port authorities are subject to the state's Open Meetings Act and must hold meetings open to the public, provide advance notice, keep public minutes and make records available for public inspection.

The port authority meeting expected during the week of Aug. 24 would be the public's first opportunity to see the details of the deals and the final terms commissioners are endorsing.

Residents can attend open port authority meetings, request copies of term sheets and final agreements under Ohio public-records law, and ask Commissioners Mears, Banks and Vero to explain how the incentives serve working families and not just developers.