Federal Building sells for $150,000

The new owners aren’t sure what they’ll do with the structure.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The owners of the 107-year-old Federal Building got the price they were asking, thus avoiding an auction of the downtown structure.

The building at 100 W. Federal St. was to be auctioned Tuesday. Arjon Realty Co., which owns the building, had planned to cancel the auction if it received an offer of $150,000.

That’s what happened.

Three men from Niles — Ron Emery, a management consultant; and Dominic L. Gatta Jr. and Dominic L. Gatta III, who operate DSV Buildings Inc., a general-contracting business — bought the Federal Building for $150,000.

It’s the first commercial building the three have purchased, Emery said.

Now they need to figure out what they’re going to do with it, he said.

“We bought it not knowing what we’re going to do. We have every intention of refurbishing it,” Emery said.

The three will “take a look at it over the next few months and decide what we’ll do,” he said.

Meanwhile, all of the tenants in the building — including Atty. Robert Melnick, a principal in Arjon — will remain, he said. The building’s been in Melnick’s family for about 30 years.

There were two other proposals to purchase the building, including one for $148,000, said Paul Basinger, broker and owner of American Real Estate Specialists, the North Lima company that was to handle the auction.

“The same building in downtown Columbus would have been $3.5 million with the location so close to several courthouses and the square footage,” Basinger said. “That’s the difference in the cities.”

The Mahoning County auditor’s office lists the building as having 5,720 square feet with a market value of $147,300.

Though Melnick was looking for $150,000, he was a little disappointed he couldn’t get more for the four-story building.

“I’d sure like to [have done] better, but we got what we were asking for,” he said.

Melnick offered his assistance in helping Emery and the Gattas to make Federal “a viable building. It will be done in stages and not done overnight.”

The upper floor houses American Maintenance, a wholesale janitorial supply business.

Melnick’s law firm and Vince’s Jewelry Repairs are on the third floor.

The second floor is vacant.

The ground floor includes Baskets by Denny, Geo’s music store, Bob Barko Jr.’s Steel Town Studios, Ado’s Alterations, and Art Youngstown. A guitar-repair store will move into a vacant space shortly.

That leaves the only first-floor vacancy on the building’s corner, formerly occupied by Maynestream Productions, which left a few months ago.

The building is named after the former Federal Savings and Loan Bank, which used to be located there.

skolnick@vindy.com