VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio – The Western Reserve Port Authority approved a $938,000 contract with J. Herbert Construction for site improvements to the former Chemical Bank property in Boardman.
The Salem contractor was selected from among 10 companies that bid for the work, which will include construction of a Dunkin Donuts restaurant at 3900 Market St., as well as installation of ingress and egress, landscaping and stormwater management. The port authority’s board of directors approved the contract during a meeting at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
Bids ranged from Herbert Construction’s low bid to Fred Oliveri Construction’s $1.2 million proposal. Seven of the bids were within $60,000 of the winning bid. The engineer’s estimate was $914,548.
The contractor will build a 2,200-square-foot building for the Dunkin Donuts, which will be operated by franchisee BK Coffee, Canfield. It also will prepare the 1.5-acre site for a potential 1,200-square-foot building for an additional tenant. PNC Bank already has an automated teller machine on a third portion the site.
The construction timeline will be weather dependent, but the intent is to have the Dunkin Donuts building ready for occupancy by next summer, said Anthony Trevena, economic development director for the port authority.
“We are still having conversations with potential tenants for the additional building,” he said.
Before the building was demolished, the port authority removed a 35-foot-long sculpture by artist Saunders Schultz, Trevena said.
The sculpture, which depicts the evolution of dwellings beginning with caves, will be installed at a property controlled by Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. The port authority previously donated a Youngstown Kitchens installation from the former bank to the Trumbull County Historical Society for its new education center in Warren.
Demolition should be completed this week on the former bank building, which the port authority took custody of last month, and grading of the property should be done next week, said Randy Partika, project manager and development engineer for the port authority.
“We’ve handled this with the utmost respect for the property,” Trevena emphasized. The port authority worked to find a tenant for the property but discovered during the process that the structure would have required expensive renovations.
Demolition of the boat-themed building has been the subject of criticism on social media.
The port authority is also in discussions with potential tenants or buyers for two buildings at 1586 and 1588 Mahoning Ave. in Youngstown, Trevena reported. WRPA is working on redeveloping the 2,000- and 4,000-square-foot buildings under an agreement it entered into with the city last year. The 2.5-acre parcel is just off of Interstate 680.
“We have a couple very interested parties. It’s a unique location and has good opportunity,” he said. For now, the focus is on stabilizing the two buildings.
Capital improvements are unde way at the former Youngstown Developmental Center property in Austintown, rechristened earlier this month as the Mahoning Valley Campus of Care, said Sarah Lown, public finance manager for the port authority. The objective is to have the campus at 50% occupancy by January and at capacity a year later.
John Moliterno, WRPA executive director, praised the Mahoning County Board of Commissioners for their efforts to rehabilitate the property, as well as state officials.
“This project is something that they will hold out for the rest of the state of Ohio because there’s other empty facilities thought the state,” he said.
Pictured: A Dunkin Donuts is to be built at the former Chemical Bank property off Market Street in Boardman.