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Youngstown has a public meeting Thursday to hear public comments on its plan to borrow $4 million for an amphitheater and park
YOUNGSTOWN
The city is having a public meeting Thursday on its request to use $4 million in federal funding toward a fund for its proposed downtown amphitheater and riverfront park project.
The public is invited to give input on the proposal at the meeting that starts at 5 p.m. and will be at the Covelli Centre’s community room, 229 E. Front St.
“It’s the time for the public to come down and give their viewpoints on the project,” said Mayor John A. McNally.
The city wants to borrow $4 million from its federal Community Development Block Grant funds to be repaid over a 20-year period with an interest rate of 3.75 percent.
As part of getting approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the loan, the city must have this public meeting and have the application online for review until March 27, said Bill D’Avignon, city Community Development Agency director.
The report is available on the city’s website: youngstownohio.gov.
Any comments made at the public meeting or submitted to the city regarding this project will be sent to HUD along with the loan application, D’Avignon said.
It will take about two to three months after the proposal is submitted to HUD before it can be approved, he said.
In addition to the $4 million loan, the city is creating a $12 million fund for the amphitheater and park using $5 million from its water, wastewater and environmental sanitation funds and wanting to raise about $3 million from sponsorships including naming rights.
“We’re still working on sponsorships, but we don’t have a timetable on making any announcements,” McNally said.
The park would be along the Mahoning River from the South Avenue Bridge to just west of Hazel Street at the former site of the Wean United Building, demolished in 2014.
The 3,250-seat amphitheater will be at the former Wean site on South Phelps Street.
The amphitheater is being built to bring more concerts to the city as acts typically play outdoors during the summer, the slowest time of the year for the indoor Covelli Centre, which is nearby and owned by the city. The amphitheater will also be used for festivals and community events.
The park will include walking trails, playground equipment, splash pads and athletic facilities including basketball courts.
A contractor to do the work is expected to be hired by Sept. 1 with the project’s start date set for Sept. 15. The work is expected to be finished by May 1, 2018.
What company will manage the facility is still being discussed, McNally said, with a decision worked out between city council and the administration.
The mayor says it makes sense for JAC Management Group, which operates the Covelli Centre, to handle the same responsibilities for the amphitheater, but 2Deep Entertainment, an entertainment booking and event scheduling business that just opened next to the center, has also expressed interest in the job.
A decision will be made by the fall, McNally said.