Port authority sees Warren winery scheduled to open next month

Port authority assisted with sale of property

Staff report

WARREN

A wine-barrel room, Tuscan-themed walls in the main lounge, a gift shop, a dining area with a view of the Mahoning River and a 5,200-square-foot open-air patio next to the Mahoning River should be in place within a few weeks to a month, when CharBenays Wine On The River just west of Courthouse Square opens.

Members of the Western Reserve Port Authority board toured the winery after its monthly meeting there Wednesday. Workers were completing inside work and will be working rapidly in the coming weeks to complete the outside walls and patio elements. Developer Mark Marvin acquired the building, the former SCOPE senior center, with help from the port authority.

Anthony Trevena, economic development director for the port authority, explained that two years ago Warren and the port authority signed an agreement allowing the port authority to assist the city with the sale of such city properties.

Having the port authority involved allows property to be sold without going out for bids. The port authority is authorized to help Warren sell nine properties, one of which is on Niles Road and expected to be sold to the St. Vincent De Paul Society soon.

Marvin expects to turn over the property to its owner, Charlene Butcher of Champion, on June 1. She expects to have a “soft opening” June 14 and be open Thursdays through Sundays to start.

For those who drink something other than wine, the business also will sell beer from Warren’s Modern Methods Brewery, as well as whiskey and other brands of beer, Butcher said.

At the meeting, the port authority authorized Trevena to work out a capital lease with the 190-bed, 103,000-square-foot, $11.7 million Campus Lofts student housing complex at the corner of Wick and Rayen Avenues in Youngstown.

A capital lease encourages economic development by allowing the developer to avoid paying sales taxes on construction materials by having the port authority take temporary ownership of the project.