Youngstown Attorneys File for Sale of Chill Can Property

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Attorneys for the city late Tuesday officially filed to force a sheriff’s sale of the site of the proposed Chill Can plant.

At 3:56 p.m. Tuesday, attorneys Thomas F. Hull II and Joseph M. Houser made a filing known as a praecipe to the clerk of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge John Durkin to issue an order of sale to Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene.

The order calls for Greene to appraise, advertise and sell approximately 22 acres now owned by M.J. Joseph Development Corp., Irvine, Calif.  

The filing comes the day after Joseph Development Corp., which broke ground in November 2016 on a proposed research and manufacturing campus for its self-chilling beverage can technology at the site, missed a deadline to pay more than $1.8 million plus interest to the city and MS Consultants Inc., and delinquent taxes to Mahoning County.   

The developer and the city in 2017 entered into an enterprise zone agreement that awarded property tax abatements to support the project. The city and company also negotiated a separate agreement the same year that provided a $1.5 million development grant for the project. The city also spent more than $733,000 in relocation and demolition expenses to clear the neighborhood to make way for the campus.

The development agreement was contingent on the project being finished and employing 237 people by August 2021. The development was never completed, and according to city records, just a single employee was hired.

Durkin had ruled Thursday on behalf of the city and MS Consultants on a joint motion requesting foreclosure on property at the site of the stalled project and to place the assets up for sale. The judgment entry granting summary judgment to the city, county and MS Consultants was filed the same day.

Judge Maureen Sweeney last year ordered Irvine, Calif.-based Joseph Development to pay the city $1.5 million for breach of contract. The court subsequently ruled that the company also owes the city another $733,480.80 in sanctions.

The same court last year awarded MS Consultants $322,907.54 plus 18% interest in damages against M.J. Joseph Development for work that MS was never paid for – but completed – at the project site.  

The city’s claim relative to the foreclosure complaint includes the $1.5 million lien, plus another $394.35. It does not include the additional money awarded through sanctions.

According to court papers, the city and MS Consultants claim they have valid liens on the property, which consists of approximately 22 acres and three empty buildings at the site.

The judgment entry called for the following payments:

• $2,150 for the preliminary judicial report to MS Consultants and $500 to the city for the final judicial report.

• Payments to the Mahoning County treasurer for delinquent taxes, assessments, interest and penalties payable on the property.

• $1.5 million to the city plus 3% interest from Nov. 21, 2022, plus $394.35 in court costs.

• $322,907.54 plus 18% annual interest to MS Consultants from Oct. 5, 2018, and $278.47 in court costs.

The balance of sale proceeds, if any, would be held by the county sheriff pending further order of the court to be disbursed according to further order to any other lien holder or interested parties.

Pictured at top: The vacant Chill Can site in Youngstown.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.