EAST LIVERPOOL – The Columbiana County Port Authority will sell the remainder of its Leetonia industrial park for the $100 million AMP project, with the company taking 150 days to determine whether the site meets its needs.

The port authority board on Tuesday approved a tentative agreement in which it would sell 68 acres at the industrial park to AMP Corp. for $2.15 million, with the company providing a $50,000 down payment the port authority keeps regardless of whether AMP goes through with the deal.

AMP is to use the next 150 days to assess the property to determine whether it is suitable to build a 200,000-square-foot specialty metals manufacturing plant, warehouse and office, creating an estimated 120 jobs.

The project was originally proposed for the McMasters farm in Fairfield Township, but AMP reportedly told officials in January it was no longer interested in the site. At that time, county Commissioner Mike Halleck declared the project was still alive and that county officials were still in talks with AMP about other possible sites.

Board President Charlie Presley is cautiously optimistic AMP, which is a shell corporation created by investors who wish to remain anonymous for now, will go forward with the project.

“Let’s not get the cart ahead of the horse. This is not a done deal. They still have 150 days to make a decision, but I don’t think they would have gone to this expense if they were not serious,” he said.

If the sale goes through, the only industrial park property remaining in port authority hands would be the empty data center building and two vacant lots, one of which is under lease.

“It was an easy decision for us,” Presley said of the loss of the industrial park. “If we can help keep this project in Columbiana County, this is a small price to pay.”

The agreement also calls for AMP to purchase 20 acres adjacent to the industrial park owned by John Wilms. Diane Ksiazek, interim port authority executive director, said AMP’s layout will have to be in the shape of a horseshoe to work around the Pennex Aluminum Corp. plant located in the middle of the industrial park, which is why AMP wants the Wilms property.

Presley said the industrial park has three distinct advantages over the Fairfield Township site: First, the property is already located in Leetonia, so it would not need annexed. Secondly, because the industrial park is in Leetonia, it already has access to public utilities. Finally, the industrial park is already designated an enterprise zone, making it eligible to seek tax breaks.

Ksiazek said the industrial park was among the properties originally considered by AMP before it decided on Fairfield Township. The only advantage the Fairfield Township site had over the industrial park is its proximity to state Route 11, but Presley said truck traffic will be heavy only during construction.

“They will be limited in the number of trucks coming and going” when the plant becomes operational, he said.

The port authority did not know what would be AMP’s actual imprint, but the Fairfield Township site involved the purchase of 183 acres, with the plant, warehouse and offices occupying 83 acres.

Presley said the project is important not only because of the obvious benefits, but it may also serve as a catalyst to attract like-minded businesses to the county. “Development such as this breeds future development,” he said.