VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio – The Western Reserve Port Authority Board of Directors approved assistance for several local projects, including a proposed industrial park project in Youngstown and the redevelopment of downtown Youngstown’s Central Tower.

During their meeting Wednesday at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, which the port authority operates, members of the WRPA board authorized execution of a term sheet and preliminary agreement in connection with a proposed issuance of bonds for Top Property Holdings – ExalCourt LLC and issuance of a sales tax exemption certificate. 

Top Property Holdings, which developed the new North Jackson Commerce Park, is exploring development of buildings on 12 acres on Exal Court at Salt Springs Road Business Park.

Additionally, the board approved resolutions authorizing the potential acquisition of the site of the proposed project from the city and a subsequent sale of the property under the terms of the port authority’s cooperative agreement with the city for $205,580.

The items were approved preemptively in the event that the city approves an agreement with Top Property Holdings on the project before the port authority board meets again in September, said Nick Chretien, WRPA director of planning and regional development. The first phase of the project would be a $5 million, 50,000-square-foot building.    

Right now, the port authority does not have confirmation of whether the city would transfer the land to Top Property through WRPA or via an alternative vehicle, said Anthony Trevena, WRPA executive director. Should the city choose to go through WRPA, he would require the board’s authorization to take action. 

“So we’re prepared in case,” he said. 

“Right now, [Top Property] has an option with the city that by our next board meeting in September, we hope it’s a purchase agreement and they’re breaking ground and actually moving,” he said.

The board approved another preliminary agreement to issue bonds and a sales tax exemption certificate to FNB Youngstown LLC, which is redeveloping the 17-story Central Tower as a mixed-use development featuring apartments, office space, retail and First National Bank of Pennsylvania’s eastern Ohio headquarters, currently on the building’s ground floor. 

The structure is “the tallest building between Cleveland and Pittsburgh today,” Chretien said. 

In recent weeks, the state of Ohio awarded a $2 million Transformational Mixed Use Development Program tax credit to the project and increased a previously awarded Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit from $2 million to $4.25 million.   

The developer likely will come back to the port authority for assistance through the Energy Special Improvement District in downtown Youngstown, managed by the port authority, and hopefully will be breaking ground on the project soon, Chretien said. 

Trevena and Randy Partika, director of engineering and construction for the port authority, also told the board that a ceremonial groundbreaking is being planned for July 30 for the new YNG Aviation Education Center at the airport. 

A pre-construction meeting was held last week with the contractors and some of the principal subcontractors, and many were expected to be dropping off equipment Wednesday,” Partika reported.  

In other business, the port authority approved the sale of 1528 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown, the former Sweet Arrangements flower shop, to Switzer Group Ltd.

Owner Gavin Switzer said the building will host three companies that he operates: Next Nature (environmental consulting); O’Neill Landscape Design (landscape architecture); and Groundwater Science (hydrology mapping). He currently is renting a former Dick Adgate Florist shop on Market Street and is outgrowing the space. 

He is working to secure the funding for the project and hopes to be in the building by October, he said.  

“I grew up here, and I really want to be part of the business community in Youngstown. I want to plant my flag here,” he said. 

Also during the meeting, the port authority board approved extending its agreement to manage the Mahoning County Community Improvement Corp. WRPA has managed the CIC for about 11 years, Trevena said. There is no change in language, and the fee structure remains the same, he said. 

In addition, Chretien reported 30 census tracts in the Lake to River region were submitted to the state of Ohio for consideration for the Opportunity Zone 2.0 program. The federal program permits capital gains to be reinvested through qualified Opportunity Zone funds, with no taxes on the appreciated value at the end of the investment. 

Of the 30 tracts, five in Ashtabula County were submitted, three in Columbiana County, 14 in Mahoning County and eight in Trumbull County.  

“We have some existing opportunity zones, and it has not been really highly utilized. But O.Z. 2.0 changes the rules in terms of the public reporting and making it a little bit more well-known,” he said. The hope is that new rules, combined with better engagement, will result in higher utilization in any approved tracts. 

Pictured at top: Western Reserve Port Authority leaders meet Wednesday at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.