Youngstown council approves money for possible V&M Star Steel expansion

YOUNGSTOWN — City council agreed to borrow $805,000 today to purchase a 62-acre railroad property needed for V&M Star Steel’s proposed expansion project.

V&M wanted Genesee & Wyoming Railroad to give the property to the company, but that didn’t happen, said city Finance Director David Bozanich.

Instead, the city is buying the land with V&M agreeing to reimburse the cost by June, Bozanich said.

The city is buying the property, rather than V&M, because Youngstown can use federal stimulus money to make improvements to the site, Bozanich said.

The city purchased close to 200 acres for V&M earlier this year for $5 million. The company will reimburse the city for that amount in June, Bozanich said.

V&M officials are considering a $970 million expansion project near its current plant on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Youngstown, near the Girard line.

A decision by the company is expected early next year.

For the complete story, read Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com