Trumbull commissioners approve tax exemption for Liberty hotel

Staff report

liberty

Liberty Trustee Stan Nudell says he’s excited for the future of the Belmont Avenue area of the township after approval of a 49 percent, 10-year tax exemption for a 86-unit Comfort Suites hotel.

It will be located on Belmont Avenue where Ramada Inn once was.

Trumbull County commissioners had a special meeting Friday morning to approve the exemption.

The process was delayed a couple of weeks because ownership of the project changed from Perni, Perni Equities LLC of Hubbard to Liberty Belmont Properties LLC of Hubbard. The change occurred because Perni, Perni sold 30 percent of the project to a hotel group that owns the Boardman Holiday Inn, said Patrick Ungaro, Liberty Township administrator.

It is the first project to receive the abatement under the township’s Belmont Avenue Community Reinvestment Area, which stretches from Belmont Avenue to Tibbetts-Wick Road. The designation encourages revitalization of the current structures and development of new ones.

Nudell said he also looks forward to the construction of a 400- to 500-person banquet facility on another part of the nine-acre parcel on which the new hotel will be located.

There are also three more 1.3-acre parcels available for development on the site, he said.

Nudell said he believes the success of the Comfort Inn project will encourage others to use the exemption in a similar way. One Belmont Avenue restaurant already is planning to apply for the abatement for an addition to its business, he said.

“We feel it’s the start of a lot of growth,” he said.