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Southside Development Corp. Offers Low-Rent Lease for Mahoning County Department
By Dan O'BrienYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Representatives of the Southside Community Development Corp. appealed to Mahoning County commissioners this morning to consider the former South Side Medical Center, now called Oakhill Renaissance Place, as the new site for the Department of Job and Family Services.Adrian Byrne, interim executive director of the the nonprofit corporation, told commissionersthe move would save the county $1.2 million in rent and other costs over the first two years of occupancy and a total of $4 million over the length of a 15-year lease.The county already faces serious economic woes, Byrne said. "The state of the economy makes it imperative for action," and commissioners should consider the development corporation's proposal.The former Southside hospital, re-named Oakhill Renaissance Place, is owned and operated by the Southside Community Development Corp., which was established in 1998 to convert the former medical facility into a multi-purpose complex with a variety of tenants.Among the tenants at the facility are the Youngstown District Board of Health, Grace Place Medical Services, Head Start, Mahoning County Coroner's office, Oak Hill Pharmacy, Dacas Hot Meals and Specialty Hospital of the Mahoning Valley.John Weed Powers, one of the founding members of the Southside Community Development Corp., told commissioners the historic building needs tenants in order to be self sufficient. "The second objective of the SCDC is to develop a program to redevelop the lower South Side," he said. Job and Family Services leases about 83,000 square feet for offices and roughly 22,000 square feet for storage at the McGuffy Plaza on the city's East Side, which is owned and operated by the Cafaro Co. of Youngstown. The county pays $5.24 per square foot for office space and $3.00 a square foot for storage.Under SCDC's plan, the county would lease 100,000 square feet for $1.00 per square-foot minimum rent and a fixed fee of $1.50 per square-foot to cover utility costs the first year. During the second year, rent would increase to $2.00 a square foot, while the $1.50 fee to cover utilities remains unchanged. Then, rent would increase to $5.00 a square-foot and $2.00 for utility fees through year 10 of the lease, and subsequently $6.50 per square-foot and $2.50 for utilities during the last five years of the agreement.Byrne added the plan locks in these costs over a 15-year period, which would be helpful to county officials when it comes time to prepare budgets. "We've got all utilities and security, 900 parking spaces, an on-site health-care clinic and a large conference facility," Byrne told commissioners. The site is also located along three bus routes, has an on-site pharmacy, day care and access to T-1 data and Internet cable lines.Commissioner David Ludt said he toured the facility recently, noting it was "great. We're looking at all options."Fellow commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock asked Byrne if representatives of the Southside Community Development Corp. have discussed their plans with city officials and whether they mesh with the long-term goals of Youngstown 2010, an initiative to redevelop the city neighborhood by neighborhood. Byrne replied he has discussed the merits of Oakhill Renaissance Place with Community Development Director Jay Williams, who said the facility was an "essential" part of Youngstown 2010.Sherlock said the county is considering three proposals, including Southside Community Development Corp.'s proposal.One of the options is to renegotiate rents and renovate the department's current facilities at the McGuffy Plaza. The other is to move the offices into the Phar-Mor building downtown.Sherlock added commissioners are looking at what other communities have done in similar situations. Summit County, for example, moved several county offices to downtown Akron as part of that city's overall plan for revitalization of that city's central business district."We've not made any decisions as of yet," Sherlock stated, but added a selection is expected by late summer.Contact Dan O'Brien at [email protected]"