Neighborhoods

In 2017, the healthcare company made plans to turn the 18,000-square-foot building into a full-service community clinic. 

Now, with nothing still up and running, some in the area are asking for answers. Almost six years after announcing a healthcare clinic will be coming to Youngstown’s south side neighborhood, One Health Ohio still isn’t open. “Things take time but they don’t take five, six, seven years. That’s not how long they take,” Ian Beniston with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation said. 

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

The City of Youngstown is going to use some of its American Rescue Plan funding to help up a portion of the South Side. 

City leaders will be working with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation to create what’s being called a “Quality of Life Ambassador” position within the YNDC. That person will then assist city Code Enforcement officials and inspectors in locating and then keeping track of problems in the city’s seventh ward.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

There’s a debate taking place in Youngstown about the future of one of the South Side’s newest buildings. 

The company that owns it has plans to redevelop it, but others are saying the plans are not moving quickly enough.

The Bottom Dollar building on Glenwood Avenue has been vacant since the grocery store closed eight years ago. Five years ago, One Health Ohio bought the building promising to build a clinic there. But since then, nothing has been done, and people interested in renovating and upgrading the Glenwood Avenue corridor are frustrated.

Youngstown councilwoman Anita Davis and Ian Beniston, executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, stood outside the vacant Bottom Dollar building on Glenwood Avenue frustrated that it’s still empty.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

A new restaurant is opening on Youngstown’s South Side. 

Savannah Joe’s is celebrating its soft opening Friday and Saturday. It’s open today from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

It’s a new soul food restaurant on Glenwood Avenue.The owner has been in the industry for over 30 years and says it’s a dream come true to open his own restaurant.

“It’s gonna be great food. We put our heart and soul into everything that we cook, I love the food, I love the culture, and I think that’s what we’re going to present here,” said Joseph Bowers, owner of Savannah Joe’s.

Bowers is from Savannah Georgia but has been living in the Youngstown area for over a decade.He says he’s had a passion for cooking since he was little watching his grandma and mom in the kitchen. It’s where he got the inspiration for his restaurant.

“It’s going to be Southern cuisine, soul food, Low Country cuisine. It’s a region in Savannah, around the Charleston, South Carolina area to Savannah, Georgia is called the Low Country of the United States, the Gullah Geechee culture. That type of food… fish and grits, shrimp and grits,” Bowers said.Bowers lives near the Glenwood Corridor area. He says he wanted to keep his restaurant local so he can serve the residents in his neighborhood as well as those who come from other cities to eat at his place.

After Saturday, the restaurant will open back up for a grand opening Tuesday with a ribbon cutting at 11:30 a.m. Then, it will be open from Tuesdays – Thursdays, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. and Sundays, 12 – 6 p.m.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

New Southern-style soul food restaurant opens in Youngstown. 

To watch the full video from WFMJ, click here.

After more than 30 years in the restaurant business, Joseph Bowers decided to open his own restaurant in the area. 

Raised in the low country of  Savannah, Georgia, and influenced by local Gullah-Geechee culture cuisine, Bowers said he discovered his love for cooking at a young age while cooking with his grandparents. By age 16 he was already in the restaurant business.

“Those are the recipes that we cook in Savannah and Charleston, South Carolina – that whole region,” he said.With the opening of Savannah Joe’s, a southern-style soul food restaurant at 2905 Glenwood Ave., the Glenwood Plaza is now full – a project that was started in January 2021.

“We have not only this business here, but the Glenwood Plaza here is now totally full,” said Ian Beniston, executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. “We have Inspiring Minds, QuickMed Urgent Care, Glenwood Fresh Market and Protestant Family Service all in this facility.”

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

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation will receive $1.1 million in state funds to provide emergency home repairs and handicapped accessibility modifications for low-income homeowners.

To read the fill story from The Business Journal, click here. 

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. is receiving a $1.11 million grant from a state agency to provide emergency home repairs and handicapped accessibility improvements to lower-income Mahoning County homeowners.

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

Monday, April 3, 2023.

YNDC is proud to announce the publishing of its performance report from the 1st Quarter of 2023! 

The performance report highlights the work of YNDC from January to March 2023.

An electronic copy can be downloaded below. 

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

909 Cubic Yards of Debris Removed

1985 Linear Feet of Sidewalks Scraped

509 Tires Removed

11 New Clients Enrolled in Housing Counseling

54 Emergency Repairs Completed

22 Vacant Houses Boarded

3 Vacant Units Rehabilitated58,900 in Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Distributed

4341 Unique visits to the Glenwood Fresh Market, serving 1916 Members in 1036 Unique Households

946 Participants in 29 Healthy Living Activities

REVITALIZE