YOUNGSTOWN Judge sets auction for hospital

A dependency program wants to buy the building for $700,000, but others will have the opportunity to offer more.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The former Youngstown Osteopathic Hospital will soon have a new owner and a new purpose.
Judge William T. Bodoh of U.S. Bankruptcy Court has scheduled an auction for 9 a.m. May 18 to sell the building on Broadway, between Elm Street and Wick Avenue. Qualified bidders must submit their offers to the court by 5 p.m. May 11.
A Youngstown landmark since it opened in 1953, YOH filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 1999, but continued to operate while officials attempted to reorganize its debts. It closed permanently in March 2000, leaving about 280 workers jobless.
Mahoning County Chemical Dependency Program, a Youngstown-based social service agency, wants to buy the building for $700,000. The YOH estate is asking $1.5 million.
Judge Bodoh ruled Tuesday that any competing bids must be at least $20,000 higher than MCCDP's offer.
He also approved payment of up to $15,000 to MCCDP in case it is not the successful bidder. The payment, called a tapping fee, is meant to cover the expenses the agency incurred studying the building and the property before submitting the first bid. The fee will come from the successful bidder's purchase payment.
Question on studies: Randal Hake, who identified himself as an engineer representing a prospective bidder, asked if competing bidders would have the opportunity to examine the studies MCCDP did to determine the physical condition of the building. He would not identify the prospect.
Hake said it seemed fair for the agency to share its findings, since it will be compensated for the studies by the court if others bid higher.
Bodoh replied that MCCDP may share its findings but is not required to do so under the law. Typically, he said, each buyer does an independent study.
Kutlick Platz Realty in Boardman has been appointed to sell the estate, and buyers must be qualified by its agents before they can bid.
William Kutlick and Stephen Platz have had at least 10 prospects look at the building, so they expect other bids.
Agency: Marty Gaudiose, chief executive of MCCDP, said agency officials have been collaborating on how it would use the former hospital, which includes two main buildings and three houses on 8.5 acres.
With 13 sites in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, MCCDP offers a comprehensive outpatient residential program, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, services for homeless people and AIDS patients, primary health care, lab testing and prevention services.
Gaudiose said the agency wants to use the building to expand services and would lease some sections to other agencies.