City seeks demolition of Federal St. buildings

A downtown technology building project is expected to begin shortly.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city wants a downtown property development agency to give it two dilapidated buildings on West Federal Street so the city can demolish the structures and turn the site into a parking lot.
City Finance Director David Bozanich and Jason Whitehead, chief of staff/secretary to the mayor, made the request Tuesday for ownership of the Armed Forces Building and the State Theater to the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp.'s property committee.
A property appraisal of the two buildings by the CIC states the structures are worthless. Whitehead, the former CIC executive director, said the city wants to demolish the structures to remove downtown blight.
The asbestos remediation and demolition of the two buildings, just west of Hazel Street, would cost about $750,000, Bozanich said. The city, using water and wastewater department money, could afford the demolition even if the cost rose to $1.5 million, he said.
As long as it isn't too cost-prohibitive, the city wouldn't demolish the front of the historic State Theater, Bozanich said.
Parking for customers
The city would use the parking lot for water and wastewater customers paying their bills at city hall, Whitehead said. In the evening, the lot could be used by those parking downtown to attend events at Powers Auditorium or other nearby venues, he said.
The project could be done in 18 months or less, Bozanich added.
The CIC owns the two buildings as well as the adjacent Wells Building, appraised at $24,000. CIC officials say the building is in good shape and is a prime downtown development site.
If the CIC could find a company that would invest at least $2.5 million in the Wells Building and employ at least 50, the city could give the parking lot to the CIC or that company at no cost, Bozanich said.
Concerns
Mark Brown, CIC property committee chairman and general manager of The Vindicator, expressed some concerns about the proposal.
In particular, Brown said an assessment done a few years ago estimated the cost of asbestos remediation of the theater at $700,000. He also wants a commitment from the city that the buildings would be down within 18 months, and that any deal with the CIC include the city's giving up ownership of the parking lot for the right project at the Wells Building.
The full CIC committee, which met after the property committee meeting, voted to have CIC staff work with city officials on contract language. Bozanich wants the agreement in place for city council to vote on it on either July 19 or Aug. 16.
Eight interested parties have inquired about buying the Wells Building, said Jan J. Seidler, CIC executive director.
The CIC board voted in March to no longer give P & amp;P Development exclusivity when it came to developing the three buildings. P & amp;P couldn't guarantee it would meet a CIC-imposed deadline of the end of April to move ahead with plans. P & amp;P officials say some CIC members were too demanding of the company, and kept putting up roadblocks to stop the project.
Technology center plans
Also Tuesday, the CIC voted to sign deals with the city and the Youngstown Business Incubator to move ahead with a project to demolish five buildings between the incubator west to the Semple Building on West Federal Street.
The parties plan to spend about $5.2 million to demolish the structures and build a 25,000-square-foot, free-standing Youngstown Technology Center. YBI wants to move two current companies at the incubator, Softek Software and Turning Technologies, to the center.
The project received $750,000 from the state Monday.
The CIC expects the project to receive a $750,000 Clean Ohio Fund grant by the fall. The U.S. House approved an appropriations bill last week that included $200,000 for the facility. It still needs approval from the U.S. Senate and President Bush.
The CIC hired MS Consultants of Youngstown for $28,850 for engineering design services and to prepare project specifications for this project. The agency also hired Brenda L. Williams for $12,000 to provide architectural services for the project.
Even without all the money in place, the project will begin later this year.
Municipal court proposal
At the request of Mayor Jay Williams, Whitehead asked the CIC to approve a resolution in support of allowing the Youngstown Municipal Court to have a first option on any development at the former Masters building complex on West Federal Street. The city demolished the CIC-owned complex last year.
The CIC referred the request to its staff to work out the needed language with city officials.
Municipal court judges say the current court facility on city hall's second floor is too small and unsafe. Judges want a facility built, preferably at the former Masters site, but city officials say there isn't enough money for a new court building. The former Masters site will be paved shortly and turned into a parking lot while a decision on its future is made.