Hometown fireworks

This is not the time for downtown Youngstown to lose a valuable business neighbor.
Last week it was reported that the B.J. Alan Fireworks Co., which has offices and warehouses West of downtown, needs to expand but is finding it difficult to do so at its present site.
Two challenges: The problem is twofold. Space and money. There's not enough room at the present site for new warehouses and new offices. The company could possibly work around that problem by locating its office space downtown, and a company official says that hasn't been ruled out, if something can be found "within a stone's throw."
B.J. Alan is large enough to employ 125 people full time and nearly twice that many part time during seasonal highs, but it's still small enough that owners and officers like to be able to walk the floor at will.
If the space problem can be overcome, there's still a financial factor standing in the way. New buildings in urban centers have lower resale value than the same buildings in the suburbs. That becomes a complicating factor when financing such a project. Imagine if you went to the bank to borrow $200,000 to build a house that would have a resale value of only $100,000.
Response: William Weimer, the company's general counsel, said the city responded quickly last week when news of the company's plight broke. Development staff met with B.J. Alan officials Wednesday to discuss alternatives.
Weimer says that the obstacles are considerable but that company president Bruce Zoldan would prefer to stay in the city, which welcomed his business in 1985 after Beaver Township zoning officials wouldn't let him expand.
On the other hand, Weimer said, there are sound business reasons to look for a new site in Pennsylvania. A new Ohio site isn't feasible because of a statewide moratorium on issuance of permits for fireworks facilities.
B.J. Alan is one of the country's largest fireworks distributors, with 30 stores and hundreds of temporary stands. It would be ironic if the company moved to a state that prohibits retail sale of the company's products while welcoming its wholesale facilities.
Far better if Youngstown and the state of Ohio can put together a package that will allow Zoldan to realize his first choice, which is to stay.