Neighborhoods

P&S Wholesale Baking Co. expects to begin manufacturing operations in early fall out of its new plant in Salt Springs Business Park, according to chief operating officer David George.

In February, an affiliated real estate holding company, DFBRG, bought the building at 2716 Intertech Drive previously occupied by LM Engineering. The holding company bought the site for $1.5 million, and P&S is preparing to spend up to $1.2 million more to renovate, equip and furnish the 43,000-square-foot building.  

This week, the city of Youngstown will consider a 10-year, 75% property tax abatement to support the relocation. The move would bring 61 jobs into the city, all but four of which are full-time positions, according to the proposed Enterprise Zone agreement. The company plans to add 40 more full-time positions over three years as it brings on two additional production lines.

The company, which started as Cornersburg Pizza’s Struthers franchisee, began selling pepperoni rolls to local schools. The business eventually transitioned into wholesale and discontinued retail operations, George said.    

P&S, now located on East Western Reserve Road in Poland, has outgrown its current plant and needs to expand beyond the single production line it currently operates, George said. P&S makes pepperoni rolls, breads, cookies and other filled rolls for schools, grocery stores, convenience stores and vending machine suppliers, and has clients nationwide. 

Sales for the company have grown from under $100,000 in its first year of operation to $7 million in 2019. 

Acting on a lead supplied by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, the city began working with P&S about a year ago to answer questions and provide information as the company was performing due diligence on the site, said T. Sharon Woodberry, Youngstown’s economic development director. 

“In January, we followed back up with them and they thought they were ready to move forward with the expansion project,’” she said. 

P&S began renovation of the Salt Springs park property in April, George said. He anticipates beginning operation of its first production line by the end of September or early October. The first of two additional production lines should be added within three months after the company moves in, he said.  

The company’s 2019 payroll was $1.88 million and this year’s payroll is expected to surpass $2 million. The company projects it will add $434,720 in payroll next year with the addition of the second production line in 2021 and another $447,761 with the start of the third line in 2022.  

The new site is “wonderful,” George said, with multiple loading docks and an open floor plan that allows the company to renovate to install the two additional production lines. 

“It actually works very well for what we’re trying to do,” he said. The purchase of the site will represent the first time P&S has owned rather than rented property since it was founded, he said.  

He also praised the city for its efforts to assist the company, including the abatement, though the project isn’t contingent on its approval, he said.

“What the city is doing is just an added bonus, but that’s not the reason we moved to Youngstown,” he said. “We still would have had to move and the building was a very good fit.”

Wages start around $9.50 per hour but P&S has “a history of rewarding employees with above-average raises,” according to the city documents. Middle management wages range from $15.50 per hour to $23 per hour. 

In addition, P&S plans to develop a summer youth program to help fill in for vacationing workers in the summer, as well as to help alleviate overtime and develop a Saturday crew. The company also wants to work with Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to assist employees with home ownership. 

To see the full story from The Business Journal, click here.

Monday, July 27, 2020

On Tuesday, July 7, the Ohio CDC Association Community Recovery Fund awarded YNDC a $3,500 grant for Emergency Repair.

The funds will be used for the emergency home repair program to assist owner occupants with repairs such as furnace and plumbing repairs at NO COST. The Ohio CDC Association Community Recovery Fund was supported by Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, Fifth Third Bank, Ohio Housing Finance Agency, U.S. Bank, PNC Bank, individual donors, and OCDCA's reserves. Big thanks to the Ohio CDC Association and all the supporters of the recovery fund!

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

YNDC is proud to announce the publishing of its performance report from quarters 1 and 2 of 2020!

The performance report highlights the work of YNDC from January to June 2020. An electronic copy can be downloaded below.

People are banding together to save an abandoned McDonald’s building in Youngstown before it’s torn down.

The former restaurant on Market Street in the Uptown District is a building that could still very much be used.

“My concern is it’s a great building. It’s in good shape,” said Mike Durkin, blight remediation superintendent.

“I do think it can be reused for some productive purpose,” said Ian Beniston, with Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.

The McDonald’s is a relatively modern building, constructed in 1989 and closed in 2017. The grass is mowed, the landscaping is maintained. In certain places, there’s shattered glass and boarded windows.

The McDonald’s Corporation of Chicago owns the property.

“Most recently, it was opened and a number of windows were broken out for weeks,” Beniston said. “It should not be the city, or the neighborhood or the residents’ responsibility to take care of their property.”

To see the full story from WKBN, click here.

Thursday, August 13, 2020

On Monday, August 10, the Senator Maurice and Florence Lipscher Charitable Fund awarded a $15,000 grant to support improvements to YNDC’s Parkview Ave Garage.

The facility is used for property maintenance and clean up operations. The funding award will be used for concrete work at the facility. Many thanks to the Senator Maurice and Florence Lipscher Charitable Fund!

This formerly vacant property was acquired by NCST Partner, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) and required over $50,000 to complete the rehabilitation.

This single family home, in Youngstown’s Kirkmere neighborhood, was originally built in 1940. The home offers four bedrooms and two bathrooms with over 1,400 square feet of living space.

YNDC addressed nearly every portion of the interior and exterior of this property. This project included replacement of the roof, windows and gutters. Key systems were addressed, including replacing the furnace and insulting the property. Additionally, a central feature of the home, the brick chimney was repaired. Kitchen cabinets were replaced and the home was given a fresh coat of paint. Finally, glass blocks were added to bring extra security to the home.

To see the full story from National Community Stabilization Trust, click here.

Mahoning Valley communities have endured the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s, the demise of the steel industry 50 years later and many other examples of more recent loss and hardship, a longtime community activist says.

Nevertheless, its residents have always been able to hold to a strong work ethic, rally around one another and maintain an unbreakable sense of community, resilience and true grit — the same characteristics Derrick McDowell tries to spread throughout the city via one of his major business ventures. 

“What I see for Youngstown is the restoration and reclamation of our identity that is rooted in entrepreneurship. It’s the spirit we’ve always had,” said McDowell, a social activist who founded The Youngstown Flea in early 2016. “We went through an identity crisis with the loss of the mills, and since that time, we’ve been searching for ourselves.” 

McDowell is trying to use the monthly outdoor flea market as a major catalyst to help the Valley in that search, he explained during Saturday’s gathering in a parking lot next to the Covelli Centre, downtown. 

McDowell also is Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past’s assistant director, inclusion coordinator for the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre and a community organizer. But he’s much more at home telling the city’s story and the positive direction he believes it can take — and doing the groundwork to make that happen.

“I’m not big on titles,” he said. “I’d rather put down titles and pick up the work that needs to be done.” 

Far from being a single, autonomous organism, The Youngstown Flea has worked closely with entities that have a vested interest in the city and a similar vision that includes establishing greater connectivity among the moving parts. Those entities include the Covelli Centre, Youngstown CityScape, the amphitheater, many area restaurants and Youngstown State University, he explained. 

“We’re just one picture and pixel in the mosaic,” McDowell added. “You add pixels to make the big tapestry.” 

AT THE FLEA

Along those lines, The Youngstown Flea has attempted to build something that resembles a hybrid mini-incubator, eclectic cultural experience, platform for makers and creators, and a space for new and established businesses, he noted. 

As a result, many businesses in their infancy or trying to get off the ground have increased their visibility at the flea market, then branched out to find their own spaces and footings in Southern Park Mall and throughout Youngstown, McDowell said. He added that he’s happy to see new and regular vendors at the gathering “spread their wings,” but eventually find their own ways toward making the city and Valley more viable and sustainable. 

One such business is Dough House Cookies, which makes 25 to 30 types of specialty, signature and deluxe cookies. 

“I started baking at my parents’ home,” recalled owner and operator TaRee J. Avery, who returned to the Valley in 2016 after having run a similar business in the Nashville, Tenn., area. “I partnered two years ago with the YNDC (Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.).”

To see the full story from The Vindicator, click here.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Work has begun to improve the frontage of the intersection of Mineral Springs and Glenwood Avenues.

Earth moving has begun and trees will be planted in the coming months. This project is part of an ongoing improvement effort along the Greater Glenwood Avenue Corridor.  

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

As of August 18, 2020 314 people have made individual donations totaling more than $35,000 to the campaign to renovate 1810 Volney Road as a neighborhood action center and to provide quality housing.

The renovation of the property has begun and will be completed in late fall 2020. Thank you again to all of you, who have supported this project and YNDC. YNDC continues to accept donations and you can donate by mailing a check to YNDC, 820 Canfield Road, Youngstown, Ohio 44511 or making a donation online by clicking the link below. REVITALIZE!

To donate, click here.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

YNDC has completed the renovation of 1945 Glenwood Avenue.

This 4,500 square foot commercial building has been severely blighted and underutilized for many years. YNDC made many improvements to the property and the adjacent lots. This project is part of an ongoing improvement effort along the Greater Glenwood Avenue Corridor. The property is now available for rent. For more information, please click here.