Development group sues over project

The proposed park buildings would be worth 36 million, the developer says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A development partnership that proposed a light industrial and commercial park in Austintown has sued the Mahoning County commissioners, saying the county has breached an agreement to install 4 million worth of roads and water and sanitary sewer lines for the project.
In the suit, which was filed Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Route 46 Land Partners Ltd. of Belmont Avenue also named county Administrator George J. Tablack and county Auditor Michael V. Sciortino as defendants.
The suit, filed by a Cleveland law firm, seeks a court order to compel the county to make the improvements, a jury trial, and compensatory damages in excess of 25,000, plus interest, costs and attorney fees.
The development, named Centerpointe Business Park, was proposed as a public-private partnership for a 189-acre site north of Rutland Avenue between state Routes 46 and 11.
In 2003, the county commissioners entered into a tax increment financing (TIF) development agreement, under which the commissioners agreed to finance and build the roads and water and sewer lines, the suit said. Upon substantial completion of that work, Route 46 Land Partners said it agreed to install other utilities and perform engineering and inspection work and begin building construction, estimated to be worth 36 million.
The county agreed to borrow 3,563,900 in the bond market, which it did in January 2004, and it obtained commitments for a 990,000 loan from the Ohio Water Development Authority and for a 500,000 Ohio Department of Development grant, the suit said. The low-interest loan was intended to help pay back the bond debt, according to Vindicator files.
County's part of deal
The county agreed to begin road and water and sewer line installations four to five months after issuance of the bonds, the suit says, adding that the state loan and grant commitments have lapsed due to the county's failure to proceed with those installations.
The county prosecutor's office declined to comment on the suit Tuesday, but Anthony T. Traficanti, chairman of the county commissioners, said last fall that the scope of the project has changed and costs have increased in the last three years.
The county must ascertain that the developer can live up to the commitment because the county's money is at risk, Traficanti said, adding that there's a risk the park won't attract tenants.