YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – City officials say they want to support economic development projects in the city but want to moderate the burden on city taxpayers.
Discussion of tax incentives offered by the city came during the annual meeting of the city’s Tax Incentive Review Council, during which members approved extending six incentive agreements.
Toward the end of the meeting, Stephanie Gilchrist, economic development director, informed the group of an anticipated request by 22 Market Street LLC, which is redeveloping the Mahoning Bank Building, downtown, for a 90% abatement through the Community Reinvestment Area program.
Discussions are underway between city officials and the partnership, she reported. The developer of the Central Tower project also is likely to submit an abatement request.
“Our goal is always to have a win-win situation for the district and the city, county and the building owners, so we definitely want to make sure that we do our due diligence and honor requests but yet be reasonable in our requests,” she said.
Developers can request high abatements, but she would like them to be considerate of the school district, which is funded by property taxes, and other local services that would take a cut in funding. “I really would like them to stay at 75% or below when they’re doing the requests,” she added.
The general rule of property taxes is if someone is paying less, someone else is paying more, Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meachum said. In many cases, the beneficiary of the levy is guaranteed a specific millage, he pointed out.
“So if someone’s going to pay less, someone else’s taxes go up,” he said.
People bringing projects to the city can request abatements higher than 75%, but city officials “let them know as clearly as we can that’s not guaranteed,” said DeMaine Kitchen, the city’s director of community planning and economic development.
“Again, it doesn’t prohibit them from requesting it, but there’s no guarantee that they’ll get it. And we try to make that clear on the front end so that their capital stack can be complete without asking for that additional,” he continued.
“At the end of the day, what’s going to benefit the community is most important,” said Kyle Miasek, finance director. “I would rather we strive towards 75 percent, and then those selective projects that are important and unique, that’s where we potentially create more opportunity if it’s required. … It’s the responsibility to close their gap for their financing stack. It’s not our job. We’re already stepping up to the plate with 75%.”
During its meeting, which was held at the city’s law library in City Hall, council members approved extensions of enterprise zone agreements with Fireline Inc., a ceramics and refractory products manufacturer; Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel LLC, which operates the Stambaugh Building, where the DoubleTree by Hilton Youngstown Downtown Hotel, Casa di Canzonetta and a Chase Bank branch operate; and Valley Foods Inc., a local food manufacturer.
It also extended agreements with Youngstown Campus Associates LLC, with which it has a CRA agreement for its Enclave student apartment complex on Wick Avenue, and an enterprise zone agreement for an adjacent commercial plaza.
An additional CRA agreement was approved for Youngstown Edison Incubator Corp., parent of YBI, which operates Tech Block Building No. 5.
For the 2025 reporting year, the companies covered under the four active enterprise zone agreements accounted for a total of 116 jobs created, above the 73 in their commitments and beyond the 98 retained or transferred. Created jobs accounted for $7.76 million in new payroll. Investment tied to the agreements accounted for $39.03 million in new investment, just above the $37.08 million committed to in the deals.
“They’re doing great work in our community, very beneficial to our community,” Gilchrist said in recommending the extensions.
According to the 2025 compliance review, under the agreements Fireline, Youngstown Campus Associates, Youngstown Stambaugh and YBI saved a total of $433,372.18.
Fireline has a 10-year, 75% tax abatement through 2027. Youngstown Campus Associates’ CRA offers a 100% abatement for 15 years through 2032, and its 10-year, 75% enterprise zone agreement goes through 2028. Stambaugh’s 10-year, 75% abatement runs through 2027. YBI’s 12-year, 50% break expires in 2029.
Valley Foods received a $12,022.38 break for the year under its agreement, which is 100% for five years through this year, followed by another five years at 50% through 2031. Jobs data for the company was still being assembled, Gilchrist said.
Members of the council also discussed an approved agreement with Penguin City Brewing Co. LLC that its owners did not appear to have acted on, as well as two potential requests anticipated from the developers of two downtown towers.
The council members did not have information on a planned expansion by Penguin City, for which the city finalized a 10-year, 75% tax abatement in February 2025.
According to Gilchrist, the project was to be completed by June 2025. Cheri Donofrio, director of taxation for Mahoning County, was unaware of any required permits being pulled for the work.
Gilchrist suggested the committee would move forward with the recommendation that Penguin City would need to reapply for any abatement since the agreement had expired, and she said she would reach out to Penguin City.