Neighborhoods

One of the people most excited by news that the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. has purchased the closed Foster Theatre on Glenwood Avenue is Steven “Shags” Shagrin of Walnut Creek, Calif.

Shagrin is a grandson of Joseph Shagrin Sr., the man who built and ran the Foster from Dec. 26, 1938, until his retirement in December 1965.

Steven’s grandfather had the vision to build a movie theater in a neighborhood setting, selecting a site near Idora Park and Mill Creek Park on the city’s South Side, according to his obituary. He had predicted the expansion of business into the neighborhood before shopping centers were popular.

“My grandfather was the very first one to break away from downtown,” Steven noted. “He said, ‘You gotta put it in the neighborhood. That’s where the people are.’ That was brilliant because the bus line ran from Mill Creek Park out to Idora Park. And what was on the way? The Foster Theatre. People could go out to Fosterville, they could watch a movie for a nickel, a dime, maybe a quarter.”

Years later, “everybody moved to the suburbs,” Steven said.

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

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

On Tuesday, July 6, the Senator Maurice and Florence Lipscher Charitable Fund awarded a $5,000 grant to YNDC for the renovation of 2915 Glenwood Avenue.

The funds will be used to renovate the vacant retail plaza into a modern retail facility with multiple units for neighborhood serving businesses. This project is part of ongoing efforts to improve the greater Glenwood Avenue corridor. Thank you to the Senator Maurice and Florence Lipscher Charitable Fund for the support!

The city of Youngstown has been looking for ways to get people to move back into the city and now, if they build new, they won’t have to pay property taxes for 15 years.

It’s called a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) and in some cases could mean a savings of $20,000.

There’s space for new businesses to open and existing ones to expand along Andrews Avenue. Along Sheridan Road, existing homes could also be expanded and new ones could be built along its side streets.

“I think expanding the CRA to all neighborhoods helps the whole city as a whole,” said Community Development Director Beverly Hosey.

CRAs were created by the Ohio legislature.

At its last meeting, Youngstown City Council approved making the whole city a CRA.

To see the full story from WKBN, click here.

A campaign to repair the marquee of the historic Foster Theater already has raised nearly $1,800 as of Wednesday morning.

The GoFundMe fundraiser was launched a week ago by Jack Daugherty, neighborhood stabilization for Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. YNDC purchased the former adult movie theater, which was built in 1938, last month for $99,999.

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

The word "Revitalize" on the marquee of the iconic Foster Theatre is doing a lot of work.

For starters, just a few weeks ago — before the building was purchased by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation on June 9 — "Revitalize" replaced an enduring advertisement for pornographic films. 

Still, the sign itself is begging for attention: The burgundy accent paint is faded and chipped. Some of the neon that once illuminated "Foster" on two sides of the triangular overhang is missing. 

Not for long: Updating the marquee is the first phase in YNDC's plan to renovate the building.

To see the full story from Mahoning Matters, click here.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation is planning on fully restoring the marquee and façade at the historic Foster Theater on Youngstown’s south side.

While the building is structurally sound, the marquee and façade have fallen into disrepair, according to YNDC.

Once restored, the marquee will display inspirational messages while the future reuse of the building is planned and developed.

To see the full story from WKBN, click here.

In the next couple of weeks, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. officials will take possession of a house on Old Furnace Road from the city.

The Youngstown Board of Control voted Thursday morning to approve a purchase and sale agreement between the city and the Mill Creek MetroParks Board of Commissioners to acquire 900 Old Furnace Road for $1.

City Council approved an ordinance authorizing the purchase of the property and subsequent transfer to YNDC last month. The city will transfer the property to YNDC in a week or two, city Law Director Jeff Limbian said following the Board of Control meeting.

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

The city’s board of control approved the $1 purchase of a West Side property from Mill Creek MetroParks and will turn it over to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. for future development.

The board voted 3-0 Thursday to obtain the title to 900 Old Furnace Road, the former longtime home of the Mill Creek superintendent. It was last used for that purpose about 20 years ago.

The park has since used the property for storage and office space.

YNDC plans to renovate the property and is looking at the best use for it.

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

It's Friday, July 9, 2021, and after three years of living in the Mahoning Valley, I’ve learned nostalgia plays a major role in Valley residents’ relationships to the region.

There’s even a Facebook Group titled: Good old days in Youngstown, Ohio in which current Valley residents and members of the Youngstown diaspora post vintage Valley advertisements and wax poetic about lunch at Woolworth’s. “Does anyone remember….?” many a post begin. 

The sweet achy pangs of Mahoning Valley nostalgia have a hold on me, too. Heck, after the old Vindy closed, I even purchased an orange plastic newspaper box someone posted on Facebook about having found. (Shout-out to MM supporter Lori Factor!)

This week, I was working on a story about Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation’s latest project, the renovation of the old Foster Theatre, which, for the last few decades, has shown porno flicks — much to the dismay of nearby South Side residents. YNDC is now tasked with the unenviable job of literally and figuratively scrubbing the iconic structure of its unseemly past. One of the first things the organization did was change the marquee, which for years, has read “XXX videos,” to YNDC’s tagline, “Revitalize.” It got me thinking: For a town that loves to look back, what do we do with the seedier elements of our past? 

To see the full story from Mahoning Matters, click here.

A ranking by U.S. News and World Report cites Cincinnati as the best Ohio city for people to live.

The study ranked cities in Ohio on desirability, value, job market, quality of life, net migration.

After Cincinnati, Columbus was ranked second, Dayton third, Cleveland fourth, Toledo fifth and Youngstown sixth.

According to U.S. News and World Report, data was used from U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Labor along with the publication's own internal resources. The answers were weighed following the answers from a survey where people voted for the most important factor to consider when deciding where they should live.

To see the full story from The Columbus Dispatch, click here.