YOUNGSTOWN — Seeking to sell the downtown 20 Federal Place building, the city’s board of control agreed to pay for a marketing study as well as for an environmental assessment, and an asbestos and hazardous materials survey of the property.

Also Thursday, the board approved contracts for two improvement projects to Mahoning Avenue and a tax abatement for Youngstown Tool and Die Co.

With a possible sale of 20 Federal Place, the city needs all of the approved work done, said Kyle Miasek, finance director and a board of control member.

“The city needs to obtain this information about the building,” he said.

The city is negotiating with Desmone Architects of Pittsburgh for a potential deal of the 332,000-square-foot, 95-year-old building at 20 W. Federal St.

The three contracts for 20 Federal Place approved Thursday were:

• $18,805 with Professional Services Industries Inc. of Girard to do an asbestos and hazardous materials survey of the building to determine how to handle and remediate safely any hazardous materials found on the property;

• $8,500 with Foley & Puls of Dallas for a housing market conditions study to determine the need for downtown housing as it relates to this building. Part of a proposed $34.5 million redevelopment plan calls for apartments and office space on the upper four floors;

• $5,000 with Hillis-Carnes Engineering Associates of Annapolis Junction, Md., for a Phase 1 environmental site assessment of the building and adjacent parking lot on West Commerce Street. The study will cover research and assessment of the soil conditions of both city-owned properties.

Desmone was supposed to give a presentation to city council this month on its redevelopment proposal, but that’s been delayed because council couldn’t schedule a meeting in August, Miasek said.

Miasek said the city administration is seeking a presentation before council’s Sept. 15 meeting.

The initial outline for the building was to have an agreement finalized with a company by October, but city officials say they’re not sure a deal will be done by then.

Downtown Development Group of Warren, the only company to submit a proposal by the city’s June 1 deadline for 20 Federal Place, withdrew its offer last month over a variety of concerns, including city offices at the property paying no rent, VXI Global Solutions — the building’s largest tenant — paying almost one-third of what the actual rent should be and the building not managed well from a maintenance standpoint, Mark Marvin, the company’s president and owner, said.

Desmone was allowed to submit a proposal June 16, 15 days after the deadline. Desmone is largely an architectural firm that collaborates with other companies on projects.

The city purchased 20 Federal Place in November 2004 after Phar-Mor, a national retail store company, went out of business. The property at 20 W. Federal St. was the Phar-Mor Centre, the company’s corporate headquarters. Before that, it was the flagship location of Strouss’ department store for several decades.

The city has tried unsuccessfully a few times to sell the building.

OTHER ACTION

The board also Thursday approved a $369,321 contract with GPD Group, a national company with a Youngstown office, to provide roadway design work for Mahoning Avenue from Meridian Road to Glenwood Avenue. Eighty percent of the cost is covered by federal money with the city paying the rest, Charles Shasho, deputy director of public works, said.

The street, one of the main corridors on the city’s West Side, is going to be repaved with new curbs and sidewalk improvements in 2024. The estimated cost of the project is $3.3 million with the same 80-20 split, Shasho said.

The board approved an $85,000 contract with MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown to handle right-of-way purchases of property the city needs on Mahoning Avenue to replace traffic signals at 10 intersections on Mahoning Avenue between Oak Hill Avenue and Meridian Road. In addition, the board approved a $7,550 contract with Bauman Appraisal Services Inc. of Alliance to review the appraisals of the land the city needs for the traffic-signal project.

The cost of both of those contracts is covered completely by federal funding, Shasho said.

The signals are planned to be replaced in spring 2023 and be done by the end of that year so the other project can start, Shasho said.

The signal project’s estimated cost is $1.6 million and will be paid with federal grants, Shasho said.

Meanwhile, the board of control approved a 75-percent, five-year tax abatement for the Youngstown Tool and Die Co., which is spending $10.1 million on a project at 2572 Salt Springs Road, the former Exterran Energy Solutions Inc. property.

Exterran went out of business in March 2016. YTD moved to the location in December from 1261 Poland Ave.

YTD has 46 employees and plans to add 54 jobs by 2025, T. Sharon Woodberry, the city’s economic development director, said.

City council authorized the tax abatement in May 2020.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Youngstown Tool and Die officials asked and were given until 2025, a two-year extension, to hire the promised 54 new employees, Woodberry said. The company plans to hire five workers this year, she said.

With the five-year abatement, the company, which makes custom-designed aluminum extrusion dies, will pay $23,180 annually in property taxes and save $69,540 per year.