City to Consider Extending Exclusivity for Potential 20 Federal Developer

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The city’s Board of Control is expected on Thursday to consider an extension of the exclusivity period for the Pittsburgh architectural firm it is working with on potentially redeveloping 20 Federal Place. 

Kyle Miasek, city finance director, confirmed Monday that he requested the 60-day extension of Desmone’s period of exclusivity to act as the city’s potential developer of the building. 

The city approved a memorandum of understating with Desmone in December and the previous exclusivity period ended in February. In November, Desmone representatives outlined a conceptual reimagining of 20 Federal Place that included a rooftop restaurant, an observation deck and a basement-level parking garage.  

The main reason for extending the exclusivity is the developer and the city are waiting to hear whether the Ohio Department of Development will approve a $6.9 million brownfield remediation grant, said Miasek and Doug Rasmussen, CEO and managing partner at Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners. 

“It’s critical to do that remediation,” Miasek said. Redevelopment of 20 Federal is a “critical piece” of efforts to revitalize downtown and attract businesses there. 

Steadfast City, based in St. Louis, is providing technical and strategic counsel to the city on redevelopment of 20 Federal and related matters under a contract approved in January.  

If approved, the grant would be used to help fund demolition and asbestos remediation work, Rasmussen said. Securing the grant would “help unlock” additional sources such as historic tax credits and begin the work to align other funding sources for the project. 

The city’s match would be around $2.3 million, depending on how much work needs to be done, Miasek said.   

Miasek and Rasmussen said they expected the grant announcements to be made by the end of the month. But Megan Nagy, a public information officer for the Ohio Department of Development, was less definitive. 

“Our office is currently reviewing applications for the program. We plan to make awards for this program in the coming months,” she said in an email. 

Desmone staff have been systematically going through different aspects of the building and teams are working on conceptual drawings, as well as performing architectural and engineering analysis to confirm their designs and development feasibility, Rasmussen said.  

The city and its partners have assembled all the necessary documentation to “take the next step” with regard to the historic tax credits, should the brownfield grant be awarded, he added.  

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