WARREN — Trumbull County widened its economic embrace of the Kimberly-Clark Corp. on Wednesday morning.

The Western Reserve Port Authority board of directors approved three resolutions at its monthly meeting at Covelli Enterprises. The actions are meant to transform a portion of the former RG Steel property into an $875 million warehouse, manufacturing and office site.

Kimberly-Clark’s board has not officially approved the project.

The three resolutions address:

● Entering into a capital lease agreement with Kimberly-Clark, headquartered in Irving, Texas.

● The sale of approximately 5.5 acres at $1,000 per acre. The site is known as the Linde property. The sales agreement had been dated Dec. 28, 2023.

● Agreeing to a private crossing agreement with Norfolk Southern, which provides an access route on the property.

Board members Sam Covelli, Kathleen Kennedy, Richard Edwards, Ed Muransky and Sterling Williams voted in favor.

“After several years of due diligence, acquiring and approving the site and working in a low-key manner with local, state officials and a port authority, we have felt very welcomed and impressed with the community,” said Chuck Smith, Kimberly-Clark’s director of strategic capital project management and network design.

“So, we’re very pleased to finally be in front of you.”

The producer of paper products, Kimberly-Clark purchased approximately 560 acres of the former RG Steel site for $9.9 million from the port authority in December 2023. Approximately 75% of the property is in Howland Township, with the remaining 25% in Warren Township. Trustees from both townships and county commissioners have approved a 10-year, 60% tax abatement for the project.

“The votes today by Trumbull County commissioners and the Western Reserve Port Authority are critical in getting this proposed project — which has the potential to revitalize the site while creating hundreds of jobs and encouraging future development there in the meantime — across the finish line. Creating a business-friendly environment takes a team effort, and that is exactly what happened in this case,” said Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber.