YOUNGSTOWN Court of Appeals to lease building from CIC for $3M for its own office

The deal ends a seven-year search for new quarters.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The 7th District Court of Appeals appears headed out of the Mahoning County Courthouse and into new digs on West Federal Street.
County commissioners approved a lease agreement Thursday with the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp., which has said it will build a $3 million office building on West Federal to house the court.
Commissioners will lease the building from the CIC, using revenue it receives from the other seven counties who belong to the district -- Columbiana, Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson, Noble and Monroe.
Each county, including Mahoning, contributes toward the court's operating budget. The counties are assessed according to their population, said appellate Judge Gene Donofrio.
Mahoning, as the largest county, pays about 44 percent of the cost, and Columbiana County pays about 19.1 percent, said court administrator Robert Budinsky.
He said the other counties will pay Mahoning, which will in turn make the rent payments.
The appellate court judges have long complained that they are out of space in their location on the fourth floor of the county courthouse. They have spent some seven years trying to find a suitable location to relocate.
"We could have gone to any other county in the district, but we wanted to stay here," said appellate Judge Cheryl Waite.
Building plans
The two-story, 13,200-square-foot building is targeted for construction between the vacant Kress building and First Educators Investment Corp. A few dilapidated buildings owned by the CIC will be demolished for the project.
CIC officials have said they hope to have the building ready by Jan. 1, 2006.
The court is expected to pay about $250,000 a year in rent to start, with the payment increasing 1.5 percent a year for 30 years. Judge Donofrio said, however, that judges are seeking grants and other revenue sources to help offset construction costs, which would in turn reduce the overall monthly payment.
Judge Waite said once the court vacates the courthouse, a full-size courtroom will be available for one of the county's five general division common pleas court judges.
Those judges also have long clamored for more space, noting that the third-floor courtroom occupied by Judge James C. Evans and his staff is far too small and inadequate.
"The only way to resolve this space issue was for someone to move out of the courthouse," Judge Waite added.
She said if a county agency moved to a different building, the county would be on the hook for the entire rent payment. But with the appellate moving, Mahoning County pays only 44 percent of the cost, she said.
bjackson@vindy.com