Officials plan to approve Centerpointe fund package

The Austintown business park has support from the area and from the state.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;By IAN HILL & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners are set to borrow $3.6 million to help pay for the construction of roads, sewers and waterlines in Centerpointe business park in Austintown.
The money would come from the sale of bonds, which would be repaid over 20 years using a portion of half of the property tax revenue collected from the park.
"I love that this development is going there," said Commissioner Ed Reese. "I think that it could be a catalyst for other [development] around and in our Valley."
The commissioners were expected to approve the funding package for the park infrastructure at a meeting this morning.
Centerpointe is set to be located between state Routes 46 and 11 along Interstate 80. Developer Jonathan Levy has said the park could become the site of $45 million worth of buildings for warehouses, retail businesses and offices that have $45 million in inventory.
Those companies could create 1,000 to 1,500 jobs during the next 10 years, he said.
'An opportunity to succeed'
"I think it's a great agreement that we have between us and the county," Levy said Wednesday. "It gives everybody an opportunity to succeed."
Levy said construction on park infrastructure could begin next spring or summer, and that he and his partners will build the first building in the park at a cost of at least $1 million. He said several businesses have expressed interest in moving into the park.
The first payment on the bond debt would be due 18 months after the bonds are sold.
Developers would repay the bonds until the park produces enough property tax revenue to pay the debt or they've made $875,000 in payments. The county would then make payments on the debt.
Commissioner David Ludt said he believes the developers will work hard to make sure the park succeeds.
"I think they're going to do everything in their power to make this project successful," Ludt said. "If there was any doubt in my mind, I would vote against it."
Reese called the bond agreement a "calculated risk." He said Levy and his partners have an impressive history of business development, and that developments like Centerpointe are needed to promote business in the area and improve the local economy.
Levy worked to create the Centerpointe plans with consultants that helped build the Tall Timbers business park in Findlay, south of Toledo. That park is home to 17 businesses and 2,000 jobs.
"If not them, who? If not now, when?" Reese said. "When do we get back on the right track?"
County Administrator Gary Kubic noted that other developers will be able to look at Centerpointe, as well GM's Lordstown plant, and realize that there is a place for successful businesses in the western Valley.
"The logic is that people want to go where the investment is going," Kubic said. "You look for progress to point to so one success story begets another."
Support from state
Julie Michael Smith, the governor's regional representative, added that the state believes Centerpointe has an excellent chance of succeeding because of its proximity to Interstates 80 and 76. The Ohio Department of Development has agreed to give the county a $500,000 grant to help pay for the construction of infrastructure.
The department of development also has agreed to support the county's application for a $990,000 loan from the Ohio Water Development Authority to help pay for the park's waterlines and sewer lines. The interest rate for the 15-year loan would be fixed at 3 percent.
The loan would be repaid using the portion of half of the park property tax revenue that isn't used to pay the bond debt.
Levy and his partners have said they will spend $4 million on the park, which includes the construction of the park's first building, as well as infrastructure engineering and design, wetland mitigation and the purchase of the park property.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;hill@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;