CASTLO News!

"A 'new' Chapter for CASTLO"

~ January 12, 2006, The Journal
 

STRUTHERS- "The CASTLO Community Improvement Corporation's theme entering 2006 is "NEW", exalts executive director William D. DeCicco. As the CASTLO Industrial Park's latest chapter begins, he explains," After years of retrofitting buildings for various tenants, in 2005 CASTLO welcomed a tenant to its first NEW building."

 

Last May, the 120-acre park, located adjacent to downtown Struthers, celebrated its 25th anniversary on the site of the former Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.'s Struthers Works.

 

In October, the completion of CASTLO's new 6,000 square foot building new the park's South Bridge Street entrance attracted the Bob Cene Park Indoor Training Facility, a first-class athletic and baseball training center. CASTLO expended $90,000 to upgrade the building with concrete flooring, lighting, office space, restrooms and HVAC. Also, storm drains were installed for the building's parking lot, newly paved. The new tenant, Youngstown Class "B" Baseball, Inc, which signed a three-year renewal option, installed four state-of-the-art batting and pitching cages on a new turf floor and a weight room with a variety of exercise and fitness equipment at its own expense. With the addition of Youngstown Class "B", "There s now activity at the park during the evenings and on weekends," DeCicco observes.

 

Other new tenants at the park as 2006 begins include Marblehead Equipment, LLC (painters of large tanks); JPI Painting, which uses its space to refurbish its painting equipment; and State Line Paving, LLC, a paving contractor. Soon Nextel will construct the park's third telecommunications tower joining the American Tower Corporation and T-Mobile. Anchor tenants Industrial Timber and Lumber Co., Aqua Ohio, Inc., the Drywall Barn, and Valley Recycling, LLC remain as strong as ever, DeCicco notes, a Fast-Cast, LLC, a steel foundry recently expanded its operations.

 

The park now has 22 tenants, excluding space provided gratis to the Campbell, Struthers and Lowellville street departments. On the environmental front DeCicco reports, "We've been making significant progress on cleaning what traces remain of the former YS&T's steel-making history." Last winter remediation of the park's eastern acreage (a former materials yard) was completed with funds from a $209,091 Clean Ohio brownfields grant. Now that the contaminants have been removed CASTLO will soon undertake efforts to redevelop this underutilized portion of the Industrial Park. According to the park's master plan, this 40-acre site could eventually accommodate at least six new buildings.

 

Other remediation activities in 2005 include completed environmental analysis of the park's western 80 acres. Those areas identified as requiring attention will be the subject of future grant applications to Clean Ohio. Additionally, on CASTLO's behalf the City of Struthers recently applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Brownfield Petroleum Grant to remove several abandoned fuel storage tanks and adjacent contaminated soils.

 

The final environmental step of the year was CASTLO's recent expenditure of approximately $16,000 to remove all asbestos from the Park's Building "H". As a result, of the 12 original YS&T buildings, nine are now completely free of hazardous materials.

 

The park's direct access works well for rail-using tenants ITL and the Drywall barn. During the  past year, nearly 250 rail cars stopped on-site thanks to the Ohio Central short-line, which affords CASTLO leaseholders access to two Class One rail carries, Norfolk & Southern and CSXT.

 

In April the CASTLO CIC's 24-member volunteer board of trustees adopted a new policy providing for the sale of selected CASTLO land and buildings in exchange for major job commitments versus the previous "lease only"  directive.

 

Chaired by Dr. William C. Binning, the chairman of YSU's political science department, CASTLO's board has as its president Marion Creed. In December, Mrs. Creed was honored for attending her 200th trustees meeting and for 24 years of dedicated service on the CASTLO board. Other CASTLO officers include: Jean McBride, secretary/treasurer; Frank Galletta, VP, finance; Geaorge Garchar, VP, industrial park management; William Livosky, VP, nominations and personnel; and Sarah Lown, VP, program. Additional trustees include: Coitsville Township trustee Walter Avdey, Kelly Becker-Rumberg, Raymond Calcagni, Jr., Campbell Mayor Jack Dill, Anthony Frattaroli, Walter Good, Atty. Michae Hoza, Carol Hirt, Lowellville Mayor James Ludiciani, Mary Kropinak, Michael Kusalaba, Poland Township trustee Robert Lidle, Struthers Mayor Daniel Mamula, Richard Melvin, Randy Patrika, Vivian Powers and Paul Stebelton.

 

Beyond the park's borders, but critical to CASTLO's mission is a commitment to the wider community. CASTLO is a founding member of, and key player in, the Mahoning River Corridor of Opportunity (MRCO). This multi-jurisdictional public/[private partnership strives to facilitate sustainable redevelopment of the 1,470+ acres of industrial brownfield along a five-mile stretch of the Mahoning River in Youngstown, Campbell and Struthers. Formed in 1996, it is chaired by Struthers Mayor Mamula with Campbell Mayor Dill playing major leadership roles.

 

A 2005 MRCO milestone saw the construction and completion of the new $3,900,000 Steelworkers Bridge from Walton Avenue to the Casey Industrial Park in Campbell. The bridge should undoubtedly facilitate economic development for the City of Campbell similar to that all ready realized via AstroShapes and CASTLO in Struthers and at Performance Place in Youngstown.

 

Also, with 4,400 feet frontage on the river, CASTLO works actively with the Mahoning River Consortium to foster unique relationships between environmentally aware businesses, open spaces and the waterway. As part of its commitment to the Youngstown 2010 Initiative, CASTLO is a participant on that organization's Natural Amenities Committee and is actively involved in attracting environmentally friendly business and industry to the entire river corridor which, for nearly a century, accommodated both YS&T's Campbell Works and the former Republic Steel Corporation's Youngstown Works.

 

A good neighbor for over 25 years, the economically self-sufficient CASTLO supports the surrounding community with its own real estate taxes as well as federal, state and municipal taxes paid on the nearly $5,00,000 annual payroll of its tenants' 150 emplyees.