Port Authority OKs Assistance with Industrial Park Project

VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio – The Western Reserve Port Authority has approved entering into an agreement to assist with the development of the first building in a 45-acre industrial park in North Jackson.

The resolution, which was approved by WRPA’s board of directors at its regular meeting Wednesday morning, authorizes executing a term sheet and indemnity agreement with Top Property Holdings LLC, the developer of North Jackson Commerce Park. Ground was broken last fall on the $7.5 million spec building for warehousing and light manufacturing.

The agreement also permits the port authority to issue a sales tax exemption certificate, which permits the developer to save money on building materials.

“Our community is lacking something that a lot of communities do have, which is speculative Class A manufacturing space,” said Anthony Trevena, WRPA’s executive director.

At the Oct. 5, 2023, groundbreaking, Top Property Holdings principal Greg Toporcer said he is trying to attract regional and national companies to the area with the new space. The building, which represents the first phase of a three-phase plan, will include eight loading docks and six overhead doors.

Other Business

In other business, the port authority board approved resolutions authorizing Trevena to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Mahoning County Board of Commissioners to manage construction and rehabilitation activities at 1915 Belmont Ave., not far from the Carl Nunziato Veterans Administration Youngstown Clinic, where a new center to serve Mahoning County veterans will be developed.

Additionally, they approved entering into an agreement with BSHM Architects, Youngstown, to perform architectural services for the project for $275,000. Both items are contingent upon approval by the Mahoning County Board of Commissioners, which is expected to act on the items Thursday, according to Sarah Lown, public finance manager for the port authority.

“We hope to begin construction around January 2025,” she said.

The port authority acquired the 23,000-square-foot Belmont Avenue building from Steward Health Care Systems as part of a portfolio of properties it bought for $300,000 last year. Earlier this month, the port authority was awarded $650,000 by the state of Ohio for the project out of its capital budget.

The cost of the project will not exceed $7 million, “and we sincerely hope it will be less,” Lown said. 

The new center will include bays for vehicles, materials storage, a large training and conference room with an attached kitchen, which will double as a community room, and intake rooms for clients, she said.

Pictured at top: An artist’s rendering of a planned building at North Jackson Commerce Park.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.