Riverside leases Iowa Avenue land for a hydrogen fueling station and adopts tax incentive for large manufacturers
On Oct. 20 the council approved a 10-year lease at 670 Iowa Ave. starting at $11,361.60 a month and created a program that can return part of a new manufacturing plant's property taxes for as long as 15 years.
The Riverside City Council on Oct. 20 approved a 10-year lease of city land at 670 Iowa Ave. to SPT Energy Base Hub, which plans to build a plant there to produce hydrogen and fuel vehicles with it.
At the same meeting the council adopted Resolution No. 24433, creating a Capital Investment Incentive Program that lets the city hand back part of the property taxes paid on large manufacturing investments.
Both items passed on the consent calendar. Councilmember Hemenway made the motion and Councilmember Mill seconded it. The calendar was approved with Councilmember Cervantes absent, according to draft minutes that are awaiting council approval.
The hydrogen site
The lease covers about 1.30 acres of vacant surplus land in Ward 2, according to a Community and Economic Development report. The company has one option to extend it by five years.
Allowed uses include making, compressing, storing and dispensing hydrogen, fast charging for electric vehicles, technology demonstrations and workforce training. The report says the facility could fuel hydrogen-powered city fleet vehicles.
Rent starts at $11,361.60 a month, or $136,339.20 a year. It rises each year with inflation, by at least 2% and at most 3%.
No rent is owed until a year after a building permit is issued or 15 months into the lease, whichever comes first.
The company accepts the land as is and must pay for design, permits, construction, utilities and off-site work such as driveways and drainage. The city can end the lease if the company does not pursue its development milestones with diligence and good faith, after notice and a chance to fix the problem.
In March the council approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and Stored Power Technologies Inc., the report says. That agreement granted no development approvals. Lease revenue will be credited to the Measure A Fund.
Manufacturing incentive
Under state law, local governments may give qualifying manufacturers a partial break on property taxes for as long as 15 years. The council's Economic Development Committee recommended the program unanimously on Sept. 17.
The incentive equals the portion of property taxes the city would collect on a plant's assessed value above $25 million. The report describes a split in which 75% goes back to the owner and 25% goes to the city as a community services fee, capped at $2 million a year.
The state program first covered projects worth more than $150 million. A 2024 law, AB 2922, added a tier for $25 million to $150 million investments that meet job requirements, the report says.
The resolution approves no incentive for any company. Each deal would need its own council vote on a Community Services Agreement with hiring targets and terms letting the city recover money if a company falls short.
Staff wrote that any future agreement would mean the city forgoes some property tax revenue in exchange for investment and jobs.
The report lists Long Beach, Marina and Palmdale, along with Riverside, Los Angeles and Monterey counties, among governments that have adopted similar programs.
