BOARD OF CONTROL Downtown building to get a new roof soon

The city plans to spend$1.5 million over three years to improve the building.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- As part of the city's plan to rehabilitate the former Phar-Mor Centre, the board of control hired a firm to design bid specifications to replace and rehabilitate the downtown building's roof.
The board selected Strollo Architects of Youngstown on Thursday to do the work at what is now called 20 Federal Place for $19,350. The work should be done shortly, said Jeffrey Chagnot, the city's economic development director.
Chagnot and city Finance Director David Bozanich declined Thursday to give a cost estimate for the work, saying that figure will be determined by Strollo. Bozanich said in March that it would take about $200,000 to repair the roof.
Big improvements
The replacement and repair work to the building's roof is expected to be extensive, Chagnot said. Portions of the original roof are still on the 84-year-old building, he said.
There are some minor leaks in the building's roof, Bozanich said.
The city took ownership of the 20 Federal Place building in February, buying it for less than $10,000 from Strouss Business Associates. The city is expected to close on the purchase of the property in early October for about $850,000 from about 30 heirs to the Wick Estate.
The city plans to spend about $500,000 on improvements to the West Federal Street building, Bozanich said. Besides the roof, improvements will be made to the lobby, canopy, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, he said.
In 2006 and 2007, the city is expected to spend $1 million to improve the building's elevators, entry way and restrooms, Bozanich said.
The 7 1/2-floor building has 400,000 square feet of space, of which about 350,000 is usable.
Convocation center
Also at Thursday's meeting, the board approved eight contracts for the convocation center, worth about $1.06 million. The bidding process for work at the facility, slated to open Nov. 4, is essentially finished.
The board also approved 20 minor change orders, including a $2,226 reduction for plumbing work that wasn't originally on its agenda. Of the 20 change orders, 12 added cost and eight reduced the project's cost. Overall, the 20 change orders added $4,460 to the project.
The city's projected cost of the arena is $45.38 million with the city having to borrow as much as $12.1 to fund the facility under a worst-case scenario, Bozanich said.
skolnick@vindy.com