VXI to Make Improvements at 20 Federal

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — City Council will consider a $50,000 grant to help fund tenant improvements for VXI Global Solutions at 20 Federal Place at its meeting Wednesday.

According to the legislation, VXI plans to expend more than $220,000 on lease hold improvements and will agree to extend lease terms on an additional 6,300 square feet in the city-owned building.

The new investment will support more than 1,200 jobs at VXI’s call center there, according to the legislation. Planned improvements include new carpeting, restroom and window upgrades and new lighting. The money will be available through the water and wastewater business development fund.

VXI already is utilizing and paying for part of the additional space but needs to incorporate it into its existing lease, said David Bozanich, city finance director.

“The Youngstown facility continues to be a strong and vital part of our business,” said Nick Covelli, VXI senior vice president, sales and marketing. The company doesn’t have plans “at this time” to expand its operations there, he added.

In February, Mayor John McNally announced that the city would retain ownership of the building, which for decades had been home to the Strouss department store and was later redeveloped as the corporate headquarters of the now-defunct deep-discount chain Phar-Mor Inc.

The call center, which opened in 2009, now employs more than 1,200 associates in the downtown building. It occupies about 72,000 square feet of the building, said Sean McKinney, city building and grounds director. That includes all of the fourth and fifth floors, part of the second floor and a suite on the ground floor, where it has its employee recruitment center.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.