DOWNTOWN YOUNGSTOWN Plan could revive office addition

The project was pronounced dead a month ago.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- City council will consider a financing proposal next week that's expected to revive a dead deal to build an addition to the state office building downtown.
If the deal is approved, officials are optimistic that it would mean a four-story addition next to the George V. Voinovich Government Center. The $7.5 million building would house the employees from the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation office, now in Warren, and the Mahoning County Children Services Board. The two agencies would bring about 175 workers downtown.
City and county officials confirmed the proposal Wednesday.
What it is
The city would borrow $2.75 million from Mahoning County, with help from county Treasurer John Reardon. The city would turn that money over to the downtown redevelopment agency, the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. The funds, combined with $4.75 million from CSB, would provide the money CIC needs to build the building.
The city would repay the loan with rent paid by the state.
Jason Whitehead, CIC executive director, said he is "cautiously optimistic" that a deal with CSB can be reached.
If not, the CIC can at least build the addition for the state, he said. The state wants to occupy the new space in October 2004, a date that may be pushed into November, Whitehead said.
City council's finance committee will discuss the proposal Monday. A special council meeting to approve the needed legislation is expected to be Wednesday.
CSB officials couldn't be reached to comment.
Councilman Artis Gillam Sr., D-1st, who also is CIC vice chairman, is confident council will approve the plan.
"Everybody involved is very cooperative and wants to make it happen," he said. "It's a good thing for Youngstown. I think everybody can see that."
Hit a dead end
Last month, CIC pronounced a project with CSB as dead after the county agency said it couldn't afford to finance the entire project. Putting up so much money could leave the agency short on funds in the coming years, officials said then.
Afterward, CIC leaders asked what the city could do to help close the $2.75 million financing gap, Gillam said. He approached city Finance Director David Bozanich, who developed the arrangement with Reardon.
The city would borrow the $2.75 million from the county for five years at 3.25 percent annual interest. By law, county treasurers can lend money to other governments within the county.
The process can be quick. The city would have spent more time trying to borrow money on the open market.
The county gets a fair return on its investment in a time of low interest rates while helping make development happen downtown, Reardon said. The money comes from the pool of funds the county uses for investment purposes.
The city saves on legal fees using the process, Bozanich said, and would have paid about 1 percent higher interest if it borrowed the money from elsewhere.
rgsmith@vindy.com