COLUMBUS — The Ohio Controlling Board on Monday released $31 million in state funds to support two major Mahoning Valley projects.

The board authorized $14.1 million from the state capital fund to help finance major renovations about to begin at Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University.

The board also released $17.2 million from the Department of Development’s All Ohio Future Fund to prepare about 1,000 acres in Warren, Howland and Weathersfield to entice major new industries to locate at the site. One of those interested in part of the property is Fortune 500 paper-products producer Kimberly Clark.

KILCAWLEY PROJECT

The renovations at the university’s student center carry a price tag of about $57 million, according to Becky Rose, director of marketing and communications at YSU. With Monday’s capital funding approval, more than $22 million has been raised in pledges, gifts, donations and state funding.

“Youngstown State University is grateful to the state of Ohio for its continued support of our campus development projects,” the university said in a statement. “We appreciate the Controlling Board’s release of these funds to support the Kilcawley Center renovation, which will play a key role in enhancing the student experience and improving our campus facilities.”

The center will close May 5 at the end of spring semester for renovations to begin. Parts of the center will reopen during construction, which is expected to be complete for the start of fall semester 2027.

Plans call for a complete remodeling of the facility by opening up spaces, allowing more natural light, adding a large common food area and a black-box theater for performances. The renovations also will improve connectivity to the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center and revamp the Chestnut Room to accommodate larger gatherings.

The building was constructed in the 1960s, opening in 1965. Its last major renovation was in 1979.

The ongoing Kilcawley: Centered on the Future campaign to support the renovations through gifts and donations kicked off in November and already has garnered more than $8 million in private contributions, according to Rose.

DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Unlike most of the 51 items on the board’s agenda Monday, approval of the $17.1 million in state funds to the Western Reserve Port Authority for industrial site development in Trumbull County did not come without questions and concerns.

They dealt with the relatively new Department of Development’s All Ohio Future Fund, designed to provide funding to help local communities stimulate significant economic development.

State Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, a member of the Controlling Board, wondered why the funding request was not explicitly broken down to account for how much of it would be in the form of a grant and how much would be in the form of a loan.

Development department officials said the breakdown likely would be 50 / 50, but hope that all of the loan portion would be forgiven if the project meets several forgivability factors.

State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, another member of the board, said he was concerned about the level of communication on All Ohio Future Fund projects to state legislators. He said he checked with state Sen. Sandra O’Brien, R-Lenox, who represents Trumbull County, but she did not know much at all about the WRPA project.

Though supporting the WRPA project, Cirino said he would like stronger communication from the Department of Development with state representatives and senators in future All Ohio Future Fund project requests. That fund created in the state’s current operating budget targets $750 million to aid local communities with site-readiness and preparation to attract economic development projects.

Breakdown of the Trumbull project’s funding shows $14.91 million will go toward surface transportation improvements to better accommodate heavy truck traffic, $6.62 million for environmental remediation and $2.04 million for sewers.

The targeted property formerly housed the RG Steel site, which includes land that paper products giant Kimberly-Clark Corp. purchased 560 acres.

The company purchased the land for $9.9 million from the port authority in December 2023.

Since then, Kimberly-Clark representatives have been to the site to conduct engineering studies, Anthony Trevena, the port authority’s executive director, said.