Looking into the local Love's

MILAN TWP. — New details recently emerged regarding the area's first Love's Travel Stops location. Background Back in 2023, elected officeholders representing three different entities — Edison Schools board members, Milan Township trustees and Erie County commissioners — approved a $12 million project for Love's. The plan calls for Love's to build a massive gas station and convenience store, known as a travel center, on Milan Road (U.S. 250) by the Ohio Turnpike entrance/exit ramps in Milan Township. It's being built on land once home to the historic Homestead Inn. Love's operates about 650 travel stops in the nation. From Sandusky, the closest such location is in the Toledo area. Some delays occurred before construction began. But it did start, in earnest, this past spring. Looking into the local Love's Lauren Daniels, a company spokeswoman, provided some new information about this location: • The timeline: "The Love's in Milan Township is expected to open by the end of 2025." • The size: "The Love's in Milan Township will be between 10,000 to 12,000 square feet. It will have eight islands and 16 dispensing points for auto fuel and seven diesel bays." • The amenities: "This travel stop will include a Hardee's and a Love's Fresh Kitchen with sandwiches, salads, tacos, wraps and fresh cut fruit prepared on site daily." • The economic impact: Each Love's location adds "50 to 75 jobs to local communities. Employees live and work in the town, making them invested in the community it serves." • The donation: "When the new store opens, Love's will donate $5,000 to a local nonprofit, to be announced at a later date, and $5,000 to (the) local Children's Miracle Network (at) UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital." • The anticipation: "Love's is excited to join Milan Township later this year with a new travel stop conveniently located along Interstate 90 near exit 118. The store will feature all the amenities Love's is known for, including clean restrooms and showers and a dog park. Through the Love's Connect App, customers can save 10 cents per gallon on gasoline and 15 cents per gallon on auto diesel." Time to talk taxes This agreement involved Love's executives asking for a tax break in exchange for building a $4 million sewer pipe spanning underneath Mason Road and the turnpike. The amount should also cover some road improvement expenses. To get it done, a deal revolved around a public funding mechanism known as tax increment financing. Tax increment financing represents a frequent method government officials employ to spur redevelopment for major projects such as this. In essence, it captures new property taxes that will be generated from the project and directs them toward, in Love's case, local schools and public infrastructure over a 30-year period. It can, however, only be used for public infrastructure improvements, which would include sewer lines and area road improvements. Love's must privately fund the other components, such as its gas station and convenience store, an $8 million endeavor. When added to the public infrastructure improvements, the project totals $12 million. Payments under this arrangement can be spread out and deferred over this 30-year time frame. Love's will continue to pay real estate taxes on the existing land not being developed today. Officials underscored this portion as a necessary component to get a deal done. And it's still a multimillion-dollar investment infusing new tax money into Erie County to fund services locals depend upon. Building a new sewer line in the area, meanwhile, opens up additional investment opportunities at nearby sites, officials said. "The main benefit of this arrangement is to get a major sewer line expansion into new territory in Milan Township," county commissioner Matt Old said. "That infrastructure improvement will allow for future business expansion in that part of the county." Added county commissioner Pat Shenigo: "For me, it wasn't about Love's gas station coming. It was about opening up approximately 200 acres for development potential along U.S. 250 with this new sewer line that Love's is paying for. We also talked with CertainTeed, one of Erie County's largest employers, and they were for this getting done. With a new sewer system, we will be able to greatly improve this area and bring more investment into Erie County."