YOUNGSTOWN - Youngstown city leaders have pulled the plug on a $57 million plan to redevelop 20 Federal Place, citing concerns that the deal could saddle taxpayers with decades of debt.

City Finance Director Kyle Miasek said developer Bluelofts wanted the city to act as a financial “backstop” for the project for 30 years.

Under that arrangement, if Bluelofts failed to generate enough revenue to cover its annual multimillion-dollar bond payments, the city said it would have been responsible for the shortfall.

“It doesn’t make any sense for us to put future generations in debt," First Ward Councilman Julius Oliver said, "To that amount of money. We’ve learned so many lessons from the past. We’re very cautious about making sure we do the right deals at the right time for the citizens of Y

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