Friday, April 28, 2017
YOUNGSTOWN
The city’s board of control has finalized an agreement in which the municipality will lend $2.7 million to the developer of a proposed downtown hotel.
The board Thursday approved a development agreement between Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel LLC, Youngstown Master Tenant LLC and Youngstown Stambaugh Holdings LLC, and the city, and an enterprise-zone agreement between Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel and the city.
The agreements provide a 10-year, 75-percent tax abatement; a 120-month, $700,000 loan; and a 30-month, $2,050,000 loan that includes an agreement that $750,000 will be forgiven if paid back on time. The loans for the Stambaugh Building project are coming from water, wastewater and environmental sanitation funds.
The project will turn the former Stambaugh Building at 44 E. Federal St. into a DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton.
Work is underway at the site, and the $35.4 million project is slated to be complete by the end of the year.
Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel is a subsidiary of the NYO Property Group, a development company led by Dominic J. Marchionda.
Marchionda said the plumbing, electric and heating and cooling systems are being installed.
“We’re starting the drywall. A model room will soon be ready for the Hilton to review,” he said. “The restaurant design is complete. We’re on our way. We’re running on schedule.”
T. Sharon Woodberry, director of community planning and economic development for the city, said Thursday’s vote simply finalized the deal.
“The actual loan agreements were approved back in December. The development agreement connects all the incentives we are providing,” she said. “Once we were able to finalize the process for the tax abatement, we were able to move forward with putting everything together for the development agreement.”
“This is it. We’re ready to go,” Mayor John A. McNally said.
Three of Marchionda’s other development projects in the city are the subject of an investigation by state and Mahoning County authorities. Unidentified city officials also are being investigated. Authorities are investigating the legality of more than $2 million the city gave to the three development projects. The money also came from the city’s water and wastewater funds.
In other business Thursday, the board of control approved a request from the fire department to enter into a professional services agreement with Strollo Architects for a preliminary design study for the construction of a new fire station. The cost of those services is $47,500.
The fire department is looking at the possibility of consolidating its main fire station downtown and one on Madison Avenue at a new location.
Fire Chief John O’Neill Jr. said he and the architect will begin looking at possible sites next week. An important consideration, he said, will be how a new location affects the department’s response times.