YOUNGSTOWN - The old Eastern Gateway Community College parking lot in downtown Youngstown is set to be torn down in the next few months to make way for a new building. 

“That building has exhausted its useful life,” Anthony Trevena, the Executive Director of the Western Reserve Port Authority said. “...It's unfortunate that we cannot salvage the pedestrian part of the building.”

The building on East Federal Street will become new county government offices. The only business still operating there, the Mocha House, will move across the street. The agreement for the project was made between the Western Reserve Port Authority, who will plan the logistics, and the Mahoning County Commissioners.  

“This works for everybody,” Commissioner Geno DiFabio said. “This shows everybody the county is moving forward.”

“This brings over 400 jobs into the city of Youngstown into downtown Youngstown it keeps the county in the heart of the Mahoning Valley,” Julius Oliver. Youngstown's First-Ward Councilman said. 

Who will move into the building is still undecided but could include the offices in the Oak Hill Renaissance building and the Mahoning County Board of Elections.

“It’ll satisfy them. They need to get out  of there and I've said it for three years,” Commissioner DiFabio said.

With a new leak just this week in the Oak Hill building causing more headaches the board of elections memebers say they need to move soon but commissioners did not ask their opinion on the new proposal.

BOE Chairman Dave Betras doesn't think the downtown government building will be an option for them.

“We would like to have a stand alone free standing building because there are certain security requirements that we must implement,” Betras said. 

With the agreement the county will not buy the old InfoCision building on Patriot Boulevard in Austintown that the BOE once suggested to move to. The port authority will remain the owner of the Austintown building. 

The entire $2.5 million in county money once committed to the Austintown building will be applied to the downtown Youngstown building acquisition. 

The port authority is still in the planning process on what the downtown building will look like.  

Demolition will begin in March or April this year and the building is expected to be complete in 2028.