YOUNGSTOWN — The $21.66 million planned renovation project to Youngstown’s tallest building received another state tax credit.

The state on Wednesday awarded a $2 million Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program grant to the proposed Central Tower project.

The project on June 24 received notice about a $4.25 million state historic preservation tax credit. That tax credit replaced a $2 million state historic preservation tax credit awarded Dec. 11, 2024.

The project would convert the 97-year-old, 17-story building at 1 W. Federal St. into 64 apartments on the upper floors and office space on the lower levels. The First National Bank has a branch on the ground floor that will remain.

TMUD tax credits are used to help finance new construction and / or improve vacant buildings.

This is only the second Mahoning Valley project to receive TMUD tax credits since the creation of the program in 2022. The Thompson Building in East Liverpool received $212,950 in 2024.

Development projects eligible for the tax credit must include a combination of retail, office, residential, recreation or hotel and hospitality uses in one mixed-use development.

The 224-foot Central Tower, also called the First National Bank building, is the tallest in Youngstown.

The building was sold Sept. 15, 2023, for $1,375,000 to FNB Youngstown, a company based in Tanafly, New Jersey, from Big Blue Properties LLC Series XXI, a South African company that bought it Nov. 21, 2019, for $1.14 million.

The renovation of the building has been discussed since shortly after the 2023 sale.

The state awards up to $125 million annually – plus any amounts rescinded in the previous fiscal year – for TMUD tax credits.

Central Tower is among 13 buildings awarded more than $110 million in TMUD tax credits by the state Wednesday.

The 13 projects are expected to create more than $318 million in new payroll and $1.3 billion in investments.

Gov. Mike DeWine said, “Ohio’s continued success depends on communities that are vibrant, welcoming and ready for growth. Through the Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program, we’re proud to help our local partners reimagine these properties as a place where families can live, friends can gather and Ohio’s next generation of entrepreneurs can invest in their futures.”