WARREN, Ohio – The new owner of the building that houses downtown’s Huntington Bank branch said he is encouraged by the activity taking place near the newly acquired property.
Debo Properties Riverview Office Towers Inc. purchased the downtown tower at 108 Main Ave. SW for $1.1 million July 8.
Babatunde Fafiyevi, chairman, founder and CEO of Uniontown-based Debo Properties, said there has been “a lot of buzz” about plans the city is implementing, as well as the announcement by Kimberly-Clark Corp. that it would move forward on building an $800 million plant near downtown, not far from 108 Main.
“I just pretty much follow what the city is trying to do, and I believe in what they’re trying to do,” Fafiyebi said. “When you believe in something, you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is, right?”
The 108 Main building is at about 75% occupancy, but Fafiyebi said he expects to have it at 100%. With the building’s location, it should be at 90% occupancy at least all of the time, he said.
In addition to the Huntington Bank branch, its tenants include the Warren office of Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell, a local law firm, and the Trumbull branch of the Ohio Public Defender’s Office. Upgrades are planned to the building’s restrooms, floors, outside lighting and landscaping, and Fafiyebi wants to power wash the entire exterior.
The building is not Fafiyebi’s only property in Warren. He also owns the Packard House apartments, as well as apartment buildings in Liberty Township and New Castle, Pa. He initially entered the Mahoning Valley market around 2005, when he purchased an apartment building on Canfield Road that he has since sold.
“I realized it’s a market to stay in, because there’s a lot of ideas and a lot of things that every city in that area was trying to do,” he said. Not every purchase he wanted to make panned out, but when 108 Main became available, he knew he had to act on the opportunity.
“There is a lot of activity going on,” and Fafiyebi “is absolutely correct,” Mayor Doug Franklin said. “There is a lot of momentum.” The city always welcomes investment in the community, particularly in the downtown area, but the activity taking place now reflects that the city’s hard work is beginning to pay off, he said.
Last year, the city was awarded $4.3 million by the state of Ohio for the Warren Waterway Trail, a project that will connect the city’s four riverfront parks. Funds also will be used to construct a new pedestrian bridge spanning the Mahoning River and connecting Perkins Park to Courthouse Square.
In February, the city also announced it would partner with Springboro-based Dillin Corp. on a project to redevelop the area around the Peninsula near downtown, with significant investments in infrastructure, new housing, retail space and a hotel. This summer, the city began work to take down the Reeves Apartments building, which was on the Peninsula.
The city also is working with Dillin Corp. and the state of Ohio to secure an easement to construct a bridge that will connect the Peninsula area to Packard Park at the Warren Community Amphitheatre as part of the project, Franklin said. There also are talks underway related to the development that he was unable to elaborate on, he said.
“I’m extremely encouraged and excited about us just continuing to build on the momentum and the foundation that’s been laid,” Franklin said. He also credited downtown’s existing businesses with laying the foundation for new investment.
Thriving downtowns generally have a mix of commercial and residential, Fafiyebi said.
“Once you have people living in downtown, you’re going to have businesses. Also, you’re going to have restaurants; you’re going to have gatherings; you’re going to have a lot of different things that bring more activity to the downtown area,” he said. “I’m hoping that that’s what the city wants to do with downtown Warren.”