Youngstown gets federal loan for amphitheater project

YOUNGSTOWN

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the city’s request to borrow $4 million from its federal Community Development Block Grant funds for the proposed downtown amphitheater and riverfront park project.

In a letter to Mayor John A. McNally, Stanley Gimont, HUD’s deputy assistant secretary for grant programs, wrote the federal agency authorized the city’s application to use the money.

“It’s a key piece of funding that will help the project progress,” McNally said.

The loan must be repaid over 20 years with an interest rate of 2.59 percent, Gimont wrote.

In addition to the federal funds, the city also plans to spend $5 million from its water, wastewater and environmental sanitation funds, and raise $3 million to $4 million from naming rights and sponsorship deals for the project.

Read more about the project in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.