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Youngstown Council OKs Tax Breaks for Steel Company
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- City Council has authorized the Board of Control to award incentives that will help a steel processing company just north of Pittsburgh to relocate its operations here.At its meeting Wednesday night, council awarded Wendelin House LLC, Ambridge, Pa., a 75% abatement on personal property taxes for 10 years. The company plans to purchase and occupy the former Allegheny Steel building on Andrews Avenue, near downtown. The company has pledged to transfer 20 employees to Youngstown and hire an additional 30 over the next three years, said Jeffrey Chagnot, the city's economic development director. Total investment in the project stands at $3.3 million, he reported. The city will also provide $30,000 toward relocation expenses.Average payroll at the company is $36,000 plus benefits, Chagnot said.Council also authorized the city to enter into a no-interest float loan agreement not to exceed $2 million for 18 months with Charles Kennedy LLC and Wendelin House. The money will be used to buy the building and equipment. The loan is contingent on the company obtaining a guaranteed letter of credit from a major bank, Chagnot told council, so there is no risk to the city. "They want to get started quickly," he noted. Council also authorized the Board of Control to negotiate the sale of the Wick Building, West Federal Street, downtown. Percy Squire, a Columbus attorney, owns a radio station whose studios are in the building and has offered $100,000 for the structure. Under the tentative offer, he also must pay another $150,000 in back taxes and rent owed the city, and commit to replacing the elevator system in the building, another $500,000 or so. Council gave its OK for the city to apply for a grant from the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund, money that would be used to remediate the vacant Youngstown Building Materials site on Logan Avenue and the Aeroquip property on Albert Street. "There are four structures on the YBM property" that are falling apart, and problems such as asbestos and oil-flow drainage pose environmental concerns, Chagnot elaborated. The Aeroquip site, he added, may also hold potential hazardous materials, such as PCBs and heavy metals in the soil, that must be abated or remediated. Precisely how much the remediation will cost is not known,Chagnot allowed, but he estimates the Aeroquip site alone will cost about $250,000 of the Phase 2 assessment. He estimates the cleanup could cost between $2.5 million and$3 million."