YOUNGSTOWN — City council will consider legislation Wednesday to give a 15-year, 100% tax exemption and allow the financing of energy upgrades through a special assessment to the former 13-story downtown Mahoning National Bank Building undergoing an $18.5 million improvement project.

The tax forgiveness, under a Community Reinvestment Area agreement, could also be extended another 10 years under legislation sponsored by Mayor Derrick McDowell.

22 Market Street Ohio LLC of Monroe, N.Y., purchased the 85,000-square-foot, 115-year-old Mahoning National Bank Building, on the city’s Central Square on Market Street between Boardman and Federal streets, for $2.3 million in December 2022.

The building, one of the main structures downtown and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was a bank for decades — most recently Huntington Bank.

The owners are working on an $18.5 million improvement project that will include 71 apartments — a mixture of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom — on the fifth to 13th floors.

The first floor, which has a scaled-down Huntington branch, will be available for retail space, including a possible restaurant or coffee shop.

The second to fourth floors will be commercial space with professional offices, several of which have been in the building for years such as lawyers, accountants and title agents.

In addition to the tax forgiveness, 22 Market Street Ohio LLC is seeking approval from city council for an Energy Special Improvement District.

The building’s owner is planning $5,492,388 in energy-efficiency work to the structure. That work includes boiler and chiller replacements, an air distribution system and energy-efficiency lighting.

Overall, it is seeking $5.9 million — with the rest for financial expenses and legal fees, among other items — through the ESID, said city Finance Director Kyle Miasek.

Under state law, the city has to authorize the ESID, but serves as only a pass-through for the money, Miasek said.

Nuveen Green Capital, a Darien, Connecticut, venture capitalist firm that focuses on commercial real estate, will loan the $5.9 million to 22 Market Street Ohio.

Starting Jan. 1, 2027, 22 Market Street Ohio would spend the next 30 years paying two annual special assessments of $287,872.49 to Mahoning County with the money turned over to Nuveen Green as repayment of the loan.

Over the 30 years, with 8.64% interest, 22 Market Street Ohio will pay $17,272,349.40 for that $5.9 million in upfront money to Nuveen Green.

If the building owner were to default on the loan, the county could foreclose on the property, which provides an assurance for Nuveen Green.

The project is about $2.5 million short, including a $2 million state tax credit it can’t receive until after it is completed, Stephanie Gilchrist, the city’s economic development director, said at a Nov. 17 council committee meeting.

Gilchrist didn’t respond Monday to requests to comment.

Still unresolved is if the city will give a $500,000 grant to 22 Market Street Ohio discussed at that Nov. 17 meeting.

The project is about a year away from completion.

City council in January 2023 created its first ESID for Youngstown Stambaugh Hotel LLC, which owns the downtown DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. The business was able to refinance its bank debt by leveraging $11.8 million it made in energy-efficiency improvements.

Nuveen Green is the lender for that deal. The hotel owners are spending 25 years, which started Jan. 31, 2024, paying $614,130.21 to Nuveen Green twice a year for a total of $30,706,510.50.