Tuesday, May 20, 2008
By Don Shilling
Bob Taft congratulated local officials for taking a major step in downtown’s renewal.
YOUNGSTOWN — Eight years of planning, organizing and construction ended with a snip.
A ribbon was cut Monday to mark the official opening of the new Taft Technology Center. Several officials, including former Gov. Bob Taft, were on hand.
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“You are taking a major step toward the rebuilding and revitalization of this city, and I congratulate you,” Taft said at the ceremony outside the West Federal Street building.
It was a step that began eight years ago when officials of the Youngstown Business Incubator and Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. had a vision of creating a place for companies that are ready to leave the incubator. The state-funded incubator provides free rent and other services to fledgling technology companies.
The goal was to keep the growing companies downtown and to keep them near the incubator so they could provide advice for entrepreneurs just getting started.
Slowly, the incubator and CIC pieced together the $5.8 million needed to tear down the old buildings on the site and build the new three-story, 30,000-square-foot structure.
Taft was honored with his name on the building because he was instrumental in securing $3.5 million in state funds for the project. About $2.3 million in federal funds also were obtained.
Once the funds were in place, the incubator and CIC decided to develop plans for the building. Garry Mrozek, chairman of the incubator’s board, said the early work on the building was a risk because officials didn’t have a tenant for the building.
As construction progressed, however, Turning Technologies signed a lease to occupy the building. It has been located in the incubator. Officials have not released how much rent the company is paying, other than to say it is a market-based payment.
Turning Technologies, which produces audience response systems, has grown to 130 employees.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, congratulated officials from the CIC, incubator and city for having a vision that the downtown could house a growing technology company with worldwide sales.
“It happened because people like you believed it could happen before there was a building here,” he said.
G. Richard Pavlock, CIC chairman, said the agency placed its focus on the west end of downtown 10 years ago and since then it has overseen the construction of 205,000 square feet of office space.
In addition to the Taft building, there has been the $6.6 million George V. Voinovich Government Center, the $7.5 million Mahoning County Children Services building and $3.8 million court of appeals.
“Our success is measured in bricks and mortar,” Pavlock said.
shilling@vindy.com
