YOUNGSTOWN CIC to announce plans for workers' comp bureau

The group renewed talk about razing dilapidated downtown buildings.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Downtown's redevelopment agency expects to announce its plans within a couple weeks to accommodate the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
Reid Dulberger, a staff member of the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp., indicated Tuesday that an addition to the George V. Voinovich Government Center will involve a tenant or tenants besides BWC.
Dulberger, executive vice president of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, which operates the CIC, declined to identify any other tenant or tenants.
BWC wants to move its Warren office to downtown.
The Mahoning County Children Services Board said earlier this month that it didn't think it could afford to be part of that plan. CIC had proposed building a four-story addition for the county and state offices.
CIC then had to reconsider the project. The agency has been considering many unidentified options in recent months.
Also on the agenda
The CIC property committee also renewed talk Tuesday about razing some dilapidated downtown buildings it owns.
Committee members said they want to talk with city council and the mayor about funding. They want to talk about re-prioritizing some of the city's annual federal funding for downtown.
There is little or no hope that private investment will be made downtown until the eyesores are gone, said Jim Miller, a committee member.
Even the best CIC-owned buildings don't make financial sense to renovate, said Greg Strollo, a committee member. Spending money to fix roofs and other maintenance is a waste, he said. Most of the buildings are a threat to collapse or burn, he said.
"I think we're sitting on a time bomb," Strollo said.
CIC doesn't have any of its own funding, members said. Neither the state nor federal governments have programs specifically for downtown demolition, either, they said.
A proposal by S.K.A. Limited for a wine and cigar lounge and a martini bar in the old First Federal building also was on the committee's agenda.
S.K.A., a partnership led by local attorney Jeffrey A. Kurz, is proposing to invest $250,000 mostly through loans and grants to open the establishment on West Federal Street. The committee didn't talk about the proposal, however, because Kurz didn't arrive in time.
rgsmith@vindy.com