Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s board of control agreed to modify its loan agreement with the owners of the downtown DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, which is refinancing its debt.

At a brief Friday meeting, the board voted 3-0 to amend the agreement, which Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel LLC needed in order to refinance, said city Law Director Jeff Limbian, a board member.

The city agreed in December 2016 to loan $2,050,000 from its water, wastewater and environmental sanitation funds to the company that built the $32 million hotel at the former Stambaugh Building, 44 E. Federal St. Of that amount, $750,000 was to be forgiven if paid back within 30 months. In October 2018, city council agreed to extend the loan and the forgiveness to this December.

But because of issues with a state audit questioning the legality of using money from those three funds for economic-development projects, the city stopped giving money to the company sometime last year and the total amount loaned was $1,805,350.77 — almost $245,000 less than the original amount.

Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel LLC was in default on its loans and is restructuring them, Limbian said.

Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel LLC is co-owned by the NYO Property Group of Youngstown and Pan Brothers Associates of New York.

The hotel at the 112-year-old building opened in May 2018. It is the first downtown hotel since the Voyager Motor Inn on Market Street closed in 1974.