Council to vote on deal for VXI to expand

By Denise Dick | August 24, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By DENISE DICK

youNgstown

City council members will be asked this week to approve an ordinance authorizing the board of control to enter a development agreement with VXI Global Solutions to bring 600 jobs.

The Los Angeles-based call-center company employs about 500 people on the fourth floor of the city-owned 20 Federal Place building.

The company wants to expand to the building’s fifth floor and bring in about 600 additional jobs.

Three ordinances on city council’s agenda this week pertain to the deal. The first would authorize the board of control to enter a development agreement with VXI to facilitate the renovation of the roughly 30,000-square-foot space.

The amount of the economic-development grant is not to exceed $1.2 million to offset VXI’s improvements at the project site.

A second ordinance would authorize the board of control to negotiate terms and enter an agreement with the company to lease the fifth floor of the Federal Place building.

The third ordinance would authorize the board of control to waive fees for building, water and wastewater permits for the VXI expansion.

David Bozanich, city finance director, told members of council’s community-development committee Monday that VXI needs the additional space as part of a contract it has with a Fortune 100 company.

But it needs to have the new service center up and operational by Oct. 1.

“From our perspective, that’s a very difficult time line to meet” because of advertising and bidding requirements, Bozanich said.

With the development agreement, the company could bid the work and have local people do the work.

The total amount to be invested at the project site is about $6 million.

With the lease and the additional income tax generated by the new jobs, Bozanich estimated that the project would bring about $575,000 per year to city coffers.

Councilman DeMaine J. Kitchen, D-2nd, committee member, said he was concerned that council members weren’t consulted about the project’s details sooner.

Obviously, the addition of 600 jobs is a benefit to the city, he said.

“If council doesn’t approve it, it makes it look like council is trying to stop progress,” Kitchen said.