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Prime Austintown property sold
By Kalea Hall
AUSTINTOWN
A property that once was bustling and then became vacant has been sold.
Sam Boak, president of Boak & Sons in Austintown, purchased the property at 5511 Silica Road this week at an auction by George Roman Auctioneers Ltd.
“It is an eyesore and has been an eyesore, and it needs to be changed,” he said. “I don’t have a plan at all for it. Maybe somebody will come to me with an idea.”
The 3.1 acres, with a strip mall of more than 15,000 square feet, once was home to a martial-arts business, a women’s fitness center and other businesses.
Talmer Bank & Trust purchased the property in a sheriff’s sale in January for the two-thirds minimum bid of $662,666. The property is valued at more than $923,000, according to the Mahoning County Auditor’s website.
Master Park Plaza Investment Inc. previously owned the property.
In October 2013, First Place Bank, now Talmer Bank, filed a complaint in foreclosure against Master Park Plaza Investment for the property.
George Roman Auctioneers marketed the property for six weeks before Thursday’s auction.
There were five registered bidders. Boak’s initial offer was not accepted by the bank, Boak said.
“The bank worked with me to negotiate the final price,” he said, which was $525,000.
Boak’s insulation, roofing, siding, gutters and windows business has been in operation for more than 40 years. It is located on Victoria Road in Austintown, so he often drives past the Silica Road property and recently decided he should purchase it. The property is across from Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course.
“I am about remodeling and fixing it up,” he said. “I never know when I am going to buy something.”
Chris Roman, auctioneer and Realtor with George Roman Auctioneering, hopes to see some development at the plaza.
“It has been vacant for some time,” Roman said. “I think it will be great addition to the Austintown area and that corridor. Sam has done a lot of good investments. I think he has a good opportunity here.”