Park Place tax break expected

By David Skolnick

The company would shovel the walkway if it’s needed.

YOUNGSTOWN — The construction of a proposed 109-unit, $17 million housing facility on the North Side is based on the city’s providing a 75 percent tax abatement to the project’s developers.

That shouldn’t be a problem, said Councilwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th and chairwoman of the finance committee.

She said she can’t believe that’s all Place Properties of Atlanta, the company seeking to build the facility, wants from the city.

“They didn’t ask for any money from the city, not a dime,” she said. “I think it is an excellent project for the city. I imagine council would be happy that someone would come in and not ask for city money for such a large project.”

Stephen L. Freeman, Place Properties’ senior development manager, said he anticipates council’s approving a tax abatement for the project, to be called Park Place, within 45 days. If needed, the abatement could be delayed a bit, he said.

The company is seeking a 75-percent, 10-year real property tax abatement from the city. Freeman said he didn’t know how much tax money the company would save with the abatement.

If all goes well, construction would start next spring and Park Place would open in the summer of 2010.

The company would demolish run-down and vacant structures that front Fifth Avenue, near Stambaugh Auditorium, to build the facility that would target Youngstown State University students and St. Elizabeth Health Center medical residents.

YSU officials strongly oppose the proposal saying they think its location poses a danger for students.

To get to and from YSU and the housing project location would require students to walk on Fifth Avenue and cross U.S. Route 422 on a thin walkway, said Hunter Morrison, the university’s executive director of the office of campus planning and community partnerships.

If there is snow, students would have to walk on the street rather than the small walkway, he said.

Freeman said he doesn’t see a problem with the location. If needed, the company would shovel the walkway to keep its tenants from walking on the street, he said.

“Safety is a key consideration,” Freeman said. “We don’t see an issue with the location.”

Morrison said Place Properties has declined to work with the university on a project that could impact its students. Freeman said the two sides have held discussions, but progress hasn’t been made because YSU is concerned about the location, which doesn’t fit with where YSU wants off-campus student housing.

The project would have 374 beds divided into 78 four-bedroom units and 31 two-bedroom units. There would be 302 parking spaces.

Trustees of the nearby Stambaugh Auditorium also object to the complex because it will adversely impact parking in the area and the housing project would make it hard for those driving north to see the auditorium, said William Conti, its president.

Place Properties has developed, financed and manages over 15,000 beds of student housing.

The company hasn’t built student housing in Ohio. But it is building housing at Wright State University in Dayton, Freeman said.

skolnick@vindy.com