MAHONING VALLEY Company likes space flexibility of office park

The office space can be broken into modules of various sizes.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
A Pittsburgh area real estate investment company has spent $6.5 million to buy office buildings in Boardman and Austintown and is interested in buying more.
Grand Avenue, which manages about 300,000 square feet of industrial and retail space in the Pittsburgh area, decided the Mahoning Valley would be a good market as the company begins to expand, said Del Miller, vice president of real estate.
The company, which is based on Neville Island just outside Pittsburgh, spent $3.65 million last month to buy Southern Commerce Park, 6951 Southern Blvd., Boardman, just north of Home Depot.
Its first move into this area was buying two office plazas in Austintown in December for $1.45 million each. Named Meridian Plaza 1 and 2, the buildings are on either side of the Interstate 680 interchange at 1090 and 603 N. Meridian Road.
The Boardman office park is home to Info Cision, Central Optical and other companies. It has about 60,000 square feet.
Miller said his company intends to add a 24,000-square-foot building to provide more space.
Developer David Handel started the office park in 1999 with partners Michael Morley and Charles Bishara.
The park offers flexible office space, which can be broken into modules of various sizes. It also features retail office space in the front, with loading docks and warehousing space in the back.
How they're built
Miller said the Austintown buildings, which used to be managed by Jesse Salomone, have a similar concept, although they are made from wood and concrete and the Boardman buildings are made from steel. The buildings have no load-bearing walls on the inside so new walls can be created easily, he said.
The Austintown buildings have a total of 67,000 square feet with tenants such as Tracktime Performance Driving School and Fastenal.
Miller said his company began looking in the Youngstown area last year. He said the area offers a lot of advantages, including good highway access and proximity to larger markets.
shilling@vindy.com