Columbiana County Port Authority Awarded Development Grant

LISBON, Ohio – The Columbiana County Port Authority will use a $175,000 Appalachian Community Development Grant for projects aimed at improving county residents’ quality of life.

Executive Director Penny Traina advised the CCPA Board of Directors about the grant during its regular meeting Monday, saying development grants have been made possible with $500 million in America Rescue Plan Act funding.

Grants were awarded as part of an initial round of funding in which recipients were required to have partners in place and begin construction or implementation of their projects within 90 days, and Traina said the funding is to develop and plan for economic development, which could ultimately transform the county in various ways.

“Through projects related to downtown revitalization, trail development, workforce initiative, health care and educational efforts, we believe the quality of life in Columbiana County will be greatly improved,” Traina said. 

The funding has allowed for procurement of planners to put together ideas.

“We have to be ready to put together the entire plan in November,” Traina said after the meeting.

The second round of development grants will open in November and close in December, and projects must be completed by October 2026.

In business matters Monday, the board passed a resolution to purchase from Portage County commissioners the 5,000-square-foot brick building at 7876 Lincole Place, which currently houses a Women and Infant Children program, as well as the nearly half-acre on which it sits, for $300,000.

Traina said this investment will allow the port authority to add the property to its portfolio and, while the WIC program is a healthy tenant using 2,500 square feet in the upper story, the basement section, consisting of nine offices, a kitchenette and private entrance, will now be marketed toward additional tenants.

With construction underway and ahead of schedule on the port authority’s Global Investment Hub at the Cherry Fork industrial park in Leetonia, the board also voted to amend the lease held by Humtown Products for square footage in the building that is now part of the GIH.

Humtown Products is currently leasing 75,447 square feet of space. The board passed a resolution reducing that footage by 3,170 square feet, reducing the company’s monthly payment by $792.63 and bringing its adjusted monthly rental fee to $23,686,87. 

Traina said after the meeting it is anticipated the hub will be completed by June. He said the port authority has already met with two foreign companies interested in being tenants in the hub.

Pictured at top: The building at 7876 Lincole Place that currently houses a Women and Infant Children program.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.