$2M loan is finalized for McCrory's renovation

YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's board of control has finalized a $2 million, no-interest loan for up to 18 months for Metropolitan National Realty Holdings, the real estate development arm of Metropolitan National Bank.
The bank will use the funding to finish remodeling the vacant former McCrory's Building, next to the bank's downtown location, for office use.
Metropolitan, which bought the 90-year-old building last year for $100,000, has cleaned it out, replaced the roof and added elevators, said Lloyd Lamm, senior vice president of operations. The bank has been working on getting prospective tenants but has no commitments.
The loan's formal approval means more renovations will happen and the bank will "hit the leasing trail hard," Lamm said.
He hopes to have each floor of the three-story building leased by mid-2002.
The McCrory's project would be the largest single private investment in downtown office space in 10 years.
The city isn't allowed to keep interest on federal money it loans out, which is why the loan is no-interest. The loan poses little or no risk to the city or taxpayers. The bank is providing an irrevocable letter of credit guaranteeing repayment on demand.