YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – After an odyssey of nearly nine years, the 22-acre Chill Can property is now in the hands of the city, according to papers filed with the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas.

Judge John M. Durkin on July 2 filed a court order that approves the city’s bid of $1,379,580 for the land and three buildings at the site on the East Side. The land was placed into a sheriff’s sale in February, and the city emerged as the highest – and only – bidder for the property. 

The measure issues a writ of possession to the city and orders the Mahoning County Sheriff to convey the property deed. As of July 7, the Mahoning County Auditor’s office still listed M.J. Joseph Development Corp. as the owner of some 86 parcels at the site. 

Last month, City Council approved an ordinance to move forward on the acquisition of nearly 22 acres that comprise the site of the failed Chill Can project.

It was among the final procedural actions required so the city can take title to the property. Also, the court ordered that any liens that encumbered the property be released.

The site had moved into foreclosure after MS Consultants Inc., a Columbus-based architectural and engineering firm, successfully sued developer M.J. Joseph Development Co. for $322,907.54 for work it did on the project but was never paid for. 

The city – which also won a judgment for $1.5 million against M.J. Joseph, plus another $733,480.80 in sanctions – joined the foreclosure suit and had a priority claim on the site. 

The city submitted a credit bid of $1,379,580 during the Feb. 18 auction and purchased the property.

Durkin’s order last week also takes into account the remaining balance the city is owed from M.J. Joseph. The earlier monetary award of $1.5 million has accrued statutory interest and now stands at $1,600,900. The city was therefore granted judgment against M.J. Joseph for another $231,828.01. 

It has taken more than four months since the city won its bid to take possession of the property. The transaction was complicated because of the large number of parcels.

The city’s acquisition brings to a close an ordeal that began almost nine years ago. In October 2016, California-based Joseph Co. International and its chairman, Mitchell Joseph, announced plans to construct an $18 million research and manufacturing campus that would commercialize self-chilling technology for the beverage industry and other sectors.

The company’s development arm, M.J. Joseph Development Co., acquired parcels on the East Side that is bordered by Oak Street to the north, Himrod Avenue to the south, the Himrod Expressway to the west and Fruit Street to the east. The land was the original site of Starr Bottling Co., Mitchell Joseph’s grandfather’s beverage company during the mid-20th century.

The company promised to create 236 jobs by August 2021 but never reported more than two employees. It constructed three buildings at the site, just one of which has a poured concrete floor.

In return for the company’s investment and promised new jobs, the city in 2017 awarded M.J. Joseph Co. a $1.5 million wastewater development grant to help the project and provided the company with a 75% abatement on real estate taxes over a 10-year period.

The city also spent more than $700,000 to demolish existing homes that stood in the neighborhood, remediate some of the environmental issues and pay relocation expenses for residents who lived there.

Four years into the project, work at the site came to a halt as the developer continued to miss deadlines to complete the campus.

Anticipating court action from the city, M.J. Joseph filed a complaint in May 2021, alleging the city did not have the authority to collect monetary damages nor was entitled to the land. The city countersued for $2.8 million, demanding a refund of its development grant, relocation and acquisition expenses and computed lost income tax revenue.

MS Consultants filed its complaint in January 2023, seeking $322,907.80 from M.J. Joseph, arguing it was not paid for work it completed at the project site. After a court ruled against M.J. Joseph, MS Consultants filed a separate foreclosure action, which the city joined.

M.J. Joseph’s attorneys then withdrew their representation, and in May 2024 the court closed out the city’s litigation against the developer, as the city deemed it unlikely it would ever collect its money. MS Consultants had earlier voluntarily dismissed its case against the company.

M.J. Joseph responded by walking away from the project entirely. The company’s phone lines in California are disconnected, and its website is no longer active.