Youngstown Board Approves Development Deals, Leases
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The city’s Board of Control approved a lease agreement with Gearmar Properties Inc. for the site where the Wean Building is located and where the company has begun a phased demolition.
Under the terms of the agreement, which the board approved at its meeting Thursday and reflects terms of the development agreement approved with Gearmar last week, the company will have until May 1 the opportunity seek a mutually beneficial tenant for the portion of the building it is not immediately demolishing. Gearmar will use its own funds to demolish a portion of the building's east end and rear bay, but leave the high-value section intact. That part of the building contains a 100-ton overhead crane that's suitable for heavy industrial use.
The city will use a portion of a $1.7 million Clean Ohio grant and another $500,000 of city money to remediate the site. In turn, the city would take possession of the property. If Gearmar secures a tenant for the 120,000-square-foot space that isn’t immediately demolished, the city would return the building and land back to the developer. Should no tenant come forth, work would move forward on demolishing the rest of the building and the city would own the parcel.
The board also approved a development agreement with Team Steel Fabricators LLC, 1158 Hubbard Road, to assist with its $143,283 expansion project at 1158 Hubbard Road. The company, which does steel mill repair work and in recent years pipe work for the oil and gas industry, is doing roof repairs for installation of two cranes and increasing the door opening in its building’s third bay to accommodate larger jobs, as well as purchasing additional equipment. The development agreement will provide up to $14,328 toward the project, which is expected to create nine jobs over the next three years.
Additionally, the board also approved lease agreements with for offices in 20 Federal Place with Shadetree Holdings LLC, a real estate firm, and the faith-based nonprofit Action, the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods. Shadetree, which is relocating from Boardman, is leasing 380 square feet and Action's lease is for 1,383 square feet.
Both new tenants' leases are for space on the building's mezzanine level and for one year with a one-year renewal, said Sean McKinney, building and grounds commissioner and interim chief of staff to Mayor Chuck Sammarone.
The board approved façade renovation agreements with three companies. American Farms Produce II Inc., 87 Brooklyn Ave., will receive $6,400 toward erecting a concrete block wall around the perimeter of the property to address theft and vandalism concerns. The project is expected to cost $16,000.
DiRusso’s Sausage Inc. will receive a $20,000 facade grant toward a $57,451 project at its building at 1028 W. Rayen Ave. The project entails siding, overhead doors and fencing, and repair/replacement of the existing sidewalk.
The third façade agreement approved Thursday provides $8,141, to VB Companies LLC, doing business as Hot head Burritos, for exterior painting and signage at 315 Elm St. Total project cost is estimated at $20,535, and the restaurant is expected to create 20 jobs over three years.
All three companies are expected to begin work right away, said Tom DeAngelo, city economic development coordinator. Chris Herubin, American Farms Produce’s president, is “really pressing it because his is more of a security issue,” DeAngelo said.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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