YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The city’s Board of Control approved a contract Thursday for sanitary sewer improvements at Exal Court in Salt Springs Road Business Park for potential future development.
During their meeting, members of the board – Mayor Derrick McDowell, who serves as chairman; Law Director Adam Buente; and Finance Director Kyle Miasek – approved a $1.19 million contract with Marucci & Gaffney Excavating Co., Youngstown, for sanitary sewer improvements at the Exal Court site.
They also amended the city’s contract with MS Consultants Inc.,Youngstown, to manage construction of the project, increasing it by $58,786 to $107,907.
Top Property Holdings, which developed the new North Jackson Commerce Park, is exploring development of speculative buildings on 12 acres at Exal Court.
Marucci & Gaffney will be under a 150-day contract to complete the work, which will involve installation of a new pump station,said Charles Shashno, deputy director of public works. Some of the work needs to be completed by late August.
The city has properties such as the Exal Court site that are valuable but “become much more valuable and sought-after when we can go in and put utilities like water, infrastructure and so forth,” McDowell said. With City Council, the city is looking at these sites “and making sure that we’re not missing an opportunity because we’re not site ready,” he added.
At its meeting Wednesday, the Western Reserve Port Authority, which has a cooperative agreement with the city to represent certain city-owned properties in discussions with developers, approved resolutions authorizing the potential acquisition of the Exal Court site and a subsequent sale of the property to Top Property Holdings or its assignee for $205,580.
Additionally, the port authority 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.
The port authority is not scheduled to meet again until September, so the board wanted to authorize WRPA staff to be able to execute the transfer before then, if necessary.
DeMaine Kitchen, director of the city’s department of community planning and economic development, said Thursday he had spoken last week with Nick Chretien, WRPA director of planning and regional development, and informed him, from the city’s perspective, that the port authority had “a green light” to execute whatever agreement was necessary.
“I don’t foresee any delays or hiccups” with a project moving forward, he said.
A few more details need to fall into place to move forward on the Exal Court project, said Greg Toporcer of Top Property Holdings.
At Thursday’s meeting, the board of control also approved renewing the cooperative agreement with WRPA.
“The port [authority] has been a wonderful partner to the city,” McDowell said. Properties such as 20 Federal Place remain a challenge, and the city earlier this year held an open house at the site of the defunct Chill Can project. The city needs help from community partners such as WRPA “to go out to the market and find the right productive use of those buildings and the end users for us,” the mayor said.