It is reported that Youngstown has purchased two key pieces of property and is finalizing deals for two others needed by V&M Star Steel for a potential major project.

As per report, the board of control agreed to purchase 14.7 acres from Shelly & Sands for USD 404,800, and 33.5 acres from Norfolk Southern railroad. The board also approved extending a tentative agreement to purchase 80 acres from Brier Hill Slag Co for about USD 3.9 million.

The properties, all on Youngstown’s North Side or in Girard, are needed by V&M for a potential USD 970 million expansion project near its Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard plant.

The cost of buying the railroad land is part of a USD 20 million grant received by the city from the state Department of Transportation with funds from the federal stimulus package. The rest of the USD 20 million would be used to relocate the railroad tracks and to grade the property.

V&M manufactures seamless tubes used mostly in the gas and oil industry. The natural gas and oil drilling businesses are starting to see an increase in business.

(Sourced from www.vindy.com)