Sharon Coolidge, and Bowdeya Tweh

Cincinnati

A City of Cincinnati plan to ask businesses in Over-the-Rhine and Downtown that get tax abatements to contribute some of the tax break to streetcar operation costs doesn't kick in until the first of the year.

But the owners of Rhinegeist – which is located at a streetcar stop – are helping out anyway. In the wake of a tax abatement from the city, the brewer will contribute about $5,000 a year to the streetcar. They're the first business to contribute.

"Our contribution toward the streetcar operating fund was an easy decision," said Bob Bonder, cofounder and president of Rhinegeist. "Rhinegeist has been successful because this thirsty city has rallied around great local beer and craft culture as a whole.

"The streetcar is not only going to help transport more beer fanatics to our brewery, it's going to play an integral part in helping our city to retain and attract talented people from within the region and beyond, which will create more jobs, investment dollars, and creative energy for years to come."

A Cincinnati City Council committee Monday approved a property tax exemption for the Over-the-Rhine brewery that's valued at more than $65,000 over 10 years.

In exchange, Rhinegeist will invest $2.2 million in their Elm Street business and create 30 full-time jobs, doubling the staff, according to Deputy Trade and Development Director Jeff McElravy.

The plan: Expand the brewery.

Rhinegeist opened 18 months ago, initially brewing 300 barrels of beer a month – or 3,600 barrels a year. It's now on pace to brew 20,000 to 25,000 barrels of beer a year, the Enquirer reported earlier this month.

The company's 250,000-square-foot brewery at 1910 Elm Street – which was once a Christian Moerlein bottling plant – draws 3,500-4,000 people a week.

Council last month approved an operating plan under which the streetcar would run every day.

Under the new plan, the burden for paying for the streetcar operations – expected to cost anywhere from $3.8 million a year to $4.2 million a year – would ultimately fall most heavily on people who buy and develop property along the streetcar route.

A look at the three-part plan:

• Fees.This includes sponsorships, naming rights and fares. The cost to ride the streetcar has not been set; but recent discussions have centered around $1 for two hours. No sponsorships or naming rights deals have been made, and city and transit authority officials do not expect those to reap big dollars. Total anticipated revenue from fees: $1.4 million.

• Developers would contribute part of tax abatements on future Downtown and Over-the-Rhine mixed-use and commercial developments. Total anticipated revenue: $200,000 a year to start, but the amount would increase every year, growing to $2 million a year by 2026. This is voluntary, but not really because council has to sign off on these deals and would likely say "no" to anyone not willing to contribute, Flynn said.

• Parking meter hours longer, costs increased. Some money will come from meters in Over-the-Rhine and Downtown; the maximum cost per hour would be $2.25 Downtown and $1.25 an hour in Over-the-Rhine. Meters would be enforced 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-9 p.m. Sundays. The unpopular $300 residential parking permit has been dropped from Flynn's final plan. Total anticipated revenue: $1.5 million (although it will raise more money than that).