Attorney: Bid time for Oakhill is short

Don't dawdle, the trustee's lawyer advises potential bidders.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Time is of the essence in selling Oakhill Renaissance Center to a new owner because the bankruptcy trustee can only afford to operate the building in the short term, said the lawyer for the trustee.
"The trustee anticipates operating the building for a period of 75 to no more than 90 days," said Atty. Melissa Macejko, the lawyer for bankruptcy trustee Andrew W. Suhar.
"In the event that we are unable to obtain court approval of a bankruptcy sale before then, the trustee will have no choice but to seek to abandon the property and shut its doors," she said Monday. "We strongly urge any interested party to come forward and make an offer, and the trustee is willing to provide whatever information that's required in the exercise of due diligence."
The nonprofit Southside Community Development Corp., which filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy May 3, owns Oakill, which is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center, 345 Oak Hill Ave. The case is before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kay Woods in Youngstown.
"We're going to do everything we can to keep this operation a going concern for the sake of the tenants and the community," Macejko said.
After the financially ailing Forum Health ceased its subsidy to Oakhill in March, tenants were told they faced the prospect of vacating the building on short notice.
Mahoning County commissioners voted 2-1 last month to take responsibility for a $450,000 loan from the Ohio Department of Development to SCDC. Commissioners have made a bid for the Oakhill building. Macejko said Suhar is taking that bid under advisement. She declined to disclose its terms.
Commissioner David N. Ludt has said Oakhill could be "a one-stop shop" for county government offices.
What it will cost
Anthony M. Cafaro, president of the Cafaro Co., has said his company intends to analyze costs associated with Oakhill, and, if it can be a profitable operation, make a bid to buy it.
If the building wouldn't be profitable to his company, he plans to publicly explain why not, Cafaro said.
The Cafaro Co. owns Garland Plaza, also called McGuffey Plaza, 709 N. Garland Ave., where the county has leased space for its Department of Job and Family Services since 1988.
Cafaro listed a number of concerns about the Oakhill building, including an estimated $1.3 million cost of asbestos abatement, nearly $3 million in estimated electrical, heating, plumbing and air conditioning upgrade costs, a $417,328 accumulated real estate tax bill, and at least $60,000 in monthly utility bills.
Besides Cafaro, there is another potential bidder interested in Oakhill, Macejko said, declining to identify the bidder.
Once Suhar determines he has his first acceptable bid, known as a "stalking-horse bid," he'll use that bid as a basis to file a motion to sell the property and ask the judge to set bidding procedures, including a bid deadline, Majecko explained.
If other parties bid against the "stalking horse," there may be an auction, she added.
Among Oakhill's tenants are the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, the Youngstown Health Department and the Mahoning County Coroner's office.
When SCDC filed for bankruptcy, it claimed assets of $19,453 and liabilities of $4.44 million. Among the creditors are Sodexho Associates Inc. of Wexford, Pa., the building manager, which is owed $1.07 million, and utility providers, Youngstown Thermal and Ohio Edison, which are owed $414,543 and $138,859, respectively.