YOUNGSTOWN — The Western Reserve Port Authority will acquire two prominent downtown Youngstown office buildings — City Centre One and the Commerce Building — for a combined $6 million.

The agency’s board when it met Wednesday approved the purchase agreement with the buildings’ owner, Ohio One Corporation, as well as accepting federal and state grants that will go toward a new flight school and aviation center at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, a facility operated by the port authority in Vienna.

Under the terms of the sales agreement, the port authority, which has its office at City Centre One, will purchase the 10-story building at 100 E. Federal St. for $3.5 million and will buy the Commerce Building, a five-story building at 201 E. Commerce St., for $2.5 million.

The acquisition, according to a statement from the port authority, “strengthens the east end of downtown as a key driver of economic development and professional services. Many businesses and community organizations have been rooted in these properties for decades.”

The transaction is expected to close by Dec. 1. The port authority will use staff with Ohio One now to continue to manage the buildings.

“WRPA has been a great tenant and we are excited to be a part of their transition into a great owner in downtown Youngstown,” Richard Mills, president of Ohio One Corporation, said in a news release. “Their dedication to our region helps to ensure that City Centre and the Commerce Building will remain in good hands.”

Port authority Executive Director Anthony Trevena said although the port authority, a quasi-governmental organization created under Ohio law, is tax exempt, the for-profit entities in the buildings it owns still pay property taxes.

“It doesn’t make us exempt from property taxes if they’re for-profit tenants,” Trevena said.

Said Marty Loney, chairman of the port authority board, the acquisition along with the port authority’s “other regional efforts such as the continued operation and development of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and the BDM Steel site redevelopment for Kimberly-Clark, reaffirms our commitment to driving growth and increasing property values across Mahoning and Trumbull counties.”

In December, the port authority sold Kimberly-Clark — one of the largest makers of tissue products in the world — 560 acres of the former BDM Warren Steel Holdings property in Trumbull County for about $9.9 million. It’s expected the site will be used for manufacturing.

AVIATION ACTION

The $2.2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, announced Sept. 10, will allow for site work for the school to begin this year. Construction could begin in 2025..

The building that will house the school and aviation center as well as an aircraft maintenance program run by the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will be no larger than 10,000-square feet and will cost about $4.4 million, Trevena said.

The center already received $600,000 from the state and can use a portion of the $3 million the state gave the airport in 2023 for matching funds toward the project, Trevena said. Still, more funds need to be raised, but Trevena has said he’s confident to reach the goal.

In addition to the cost of building are the expenses for realigning sanitary and storm sewers at the airport, road construction and relocating fuel farms.

The board also accepted a $244,100 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission that will be used to buy a flight simulator for the school. The local match for the grant is $104,688 that came from other state funds.

In connection, the board approved spending $305,621 to acquire the full-motion flight simulator for $270,866 and a tabletop simulator for $34,755.

“We were blessed to have 100% of the funds come from the outside,” Trevena said.