Company nears purchase deal for Davis building downtown

The purchase agreement can be finalized in April.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A long-vacant downtown building is expected to undergo about 300,000 worth of improvements and reopen by the end of the year.
If everything goes according to schedule, the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp., an independent downtown redevelopment agency, will sign a purchase agreement next month with the Sweet Jenny Land Co. for the John R. Davis Building.
The 108-year-old building on West Federal Street, just east of the Downtown Draught House, has been vacant for close to two decades. It was last used as a department store.
Sweet Jenny, consisting of three architects, is finalizing a 225,000 loan from Sky Bank, and has tentative approval from the city for 75,000 worth of grants toward the project, said Paul Hagman, the president of the company, which is based in the Ohio One Building on East Boardman St., downtown.
Ronald C. Faniro, the company's secretary-treasurer, told the CIC's property committee Tuesday that his company is expected to approve the purchase agreement shortly. The third partner and vice president is Frank Rulli.
Faniro said his company wants to obtain ownership of the building, vacant for about two decades, as soon as possible. The deal can be finalized by the CIC's April 24 meeting, said Edwin Romero, the agency's legal counsel.
Plans
Sweet Jenny wants to start construction by June 1 and finish work by the end of the year, Faniro said.
The firm would take the second floor of the three-story structure. Hagman would use the third floor as an art studio and live there.
The company plans to lease the first floor and has two parties interested in the space, Faniro said.
Also Tuesday, CIC President Jan Seidler said minor modifications to documents soliciting companies to design and build the Taft Technology Center should be ready today and advertised shortly thereafter.
The CIC board rejected all six proposals last month for the center. Even with that delay, CIC officials say the building will be done by its original Dec. 17 completion date.
Five buildings at the technology center site were demolished in November 2006. The center is to be built between the Youngstown Business Incubator and the vacant Semple Building on West Federal Street, just east of the Home Savings and Loan building.
skolnick@vindy.com