Neighborhoods

Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership and Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation have announced new staff positions created through the Strategic Partners Fellowship, which is supported by the Raymond John Wean Foundation.

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

Common Wealth Inc. and Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. will partner to develop a 2,200-square-foot duplex on the North Side.

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

The city’s design review committee approved two exterior improvement projects — though didn’t give its full support to one — making them eligible to receive grant money from Youngstown’s facade program. 

With the approvals Tuesday, the committee has authorized 51 businesses to receive grants from the program. The approvals were the first two in front of the committee for consideration since May 7. Before that, there were requests for the funding for several meetings in a row. 

City council in December 2022 approved setting aside $1 million of Youngstown’s $82.7 million in American Rescue Plan funds for the facade program. It allows eligible companies to receive up to $20,000 each to help pay for the cost of exterior improvements. 

In order to get the grants, companies have to obtain permission from the design review committee. Companies must show they are paying at least half of the cost of the work being done. 

The facade grants are forgivable loans with a five-year term. Every year a business remains open at their location in the city, 20% of the loan is forgiven until it reaches 100% at the five-year mark. The approval for Fusion Barber Salon at 2725 Mahoning Ave. was for the maximum $20,000 grant with the business planning a $40,886 project.

But the committee voted Tuesday to hold off on a key part of that project: permitting Fusion to put up a standalone ground sign near the street on the West Side’s main corridor. 

Jay Crafton, a committee member, said he was concerned the sign would adversely impact visibility for vehicles and take away handicapped parking in the strip plaza where Fusion is located. 

Crafton wanted to see if the proposed sign could be put on the same pole as other signs in the plaza or at least elevated on its own pole. 

“Generally speaking, our corridors look flooded” with signs, said Charles Shasho, a committee member and the city’s deputy director of public works. “There’s abandoned signs. There’s multiple signs on one lot.” 

Fusion will look at an elevated sign. 

The committee agreed to permit the business to erect a new sign on the building and paint the structure. 

The cost of the project wasn’t separated by each item so if Fusion doesn’t get approval for a sign by the street, city officials will have to determine how much funding the business is eligible to receive under the program. 

The committee also approved a $5,700 grant for Goldhammer Investments LLC, 59 Steel St., for a $11,400 project. Goldhammer is a home renovation company that is planning new metal signs, improvements to the building’s exterior and painting portions of it. 

Those in downtown, the uptown district, the Crandall Park district and businesses seeking facade grants need approval from the design review committee for exterior work. 

In other business, the committee approved a 2,200-square-foot duplex to be built at 107 Baldwin St. on the city’s North Side by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and Common Wealth Inc.

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

From eliminating blight to adding new housing, Youngstown leaders are working to attract people into the city.

"This housing project building a whole new neighborhood, new sidewalks, new street lights, newly paved street it's just one of those things we're trying to do to put that energy back into the citizens and let them know they are valued," First Ward Councilman Julius Oliver said. "This is how we feel about them and this is how we feel about our city," he said. 

However, in a city that's consistently lost population for decades, what's going to make people stick around? Oliver said quality of life. "There's no houses here with the modern amenities that they would want, there's no attached two car garages because most of the houses here had separate garages, there's no two, three bathrooms, you know," Oliver said. "These are the things that people are looking for, modern everyday amenities you know, that will give them a greater quality of life on the south side of Youngstown," he said. 

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation Executive Director Ian Beniston said the cost of these brand new houses and some of the perks that come with them will also attract new residents.

To see the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

The Youngstown Renaissance Bus Tour will give residents a look at the “transformation taking shape on Youngstown’s South Side.” 

The bus tour will visit seven stops from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. 

Tour participants will meet at South High School, 1833 Market St., to begin the tour and catch the bus to six additional stops. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from Glenwood Grounds, 2906 Glenwood Ave., or by contacting Vicki Vicars, one of the tour organizers, director of mission, equity and resilience at Youngstown’s Ursuline Sisters Mission and director of advancement for Thrive Mahoning Valley, at 330 717 8953. 

“The South Side is filled with incredible people, thriving nonprofits, healthy businesses and faith-filled church communities,” Vicars said. “This is what this tour is about. Come meet positive people and visit institutions that are pouring hope and renewal into this community.” 

The motor coach tour bus will accommodate up to 80 participants. Tour guides and site hosts will provide information about the interconnected visions for revitalization, economic development and community engagement. Participants will enjoy free coffee and a muffin at the Glenwood Grounds stop. 

The seven tour stops include: 

• South Side High School. 
• The Oak Hill Collaborative. 
• St. Patrick Church. 
• Ford Nature Center. 
• The Youngstown Playhouse. 
• Bernard Street Development. 
• Glenwood Grounds. 

Parking is available at South High, where participants will board the bus. At the completion of the tour, the bus will return to South High. 

“Please come and be a part of building community, building our future,” tour organizer Jon Howell said. “This tour will give participants a revelation of the transformation taking shape on Youngstown’s South Side.” 

South High School was constructed in 1911 and served generations of Youngstown students and the South Side community for more than 80 years. Youngstown Jubilee Urban Development purchased the historic building this year and launched the South High Revitalization Project, with a vision for the restored South High to serve as an anchor to contribute to the vitality and growth of the city’s South Side. 

The Oak Hill Collaborative was birthed out of social justice and community improvement activities by members of St. Patrick Church, on Oak Hill Avenue. The Oak Hill Maker Space is integral to the organization’s neighborhood revitalization and business incubator initiatives. 

Participants include makers, inventors, hobbyists, hackers, artisans, students, teachers, do- gooders and do-it-yourselfers. The organization’s business incubator has assisted small businesses throughout the Mahoning Valley with office space, business planning, grant writing and networking. 

St. Patrick Church’s Oak Hill Avenue building was completed in 1926. Constructed in the Gothic Revival style, the structure is known for its ornate wood and brick work, 80-foot ceilings and 72 stained-glass windows. St. Patrick has long been an anchor of Youngstown’s Oak Hill neighborhood. The church traces its legacy of community involvement back to its establishment as a parish in 1911. Members of the multicultural congregation are dedicated to enriching the spiritual life of the community and are intentional about serving the neighborhood. 

The Ford Nature Center, housed in a donated stone mansion in the northern part of Mill Creek Park, opened its doors to the public in the 1970s as the headquarters for the park’s nature education programs. In 2023, the center completed a substantial, comprehensive redevelopment project aimed at improving and expanding its facilities to better serve Youngstown’s nature education needs. 

The Youngstown Playhouse, originally formed in 1924, moved to its current home on Glenwood Avenue in 1959. It continues on a 100-year legacy of live community theater for northeastern Ohio, staging classic performances and modern productions for audiences numbering more than 9,000 individuals of all ages annually. The Youth Theatre Program serves nearly 150 participants through classes, workshops and fully staged productions, which are attended by more than 1,000 local public school students annually. 

The Bernard Street Housing Development, underway in the Glenwood Corridor, aims to encourage additional investment and home ownership near the north end of Glenwood Avenue, across the street from the Volney Rogers field and tennis courts. In the first phase of the project, three new homes are under construction on Bernard Street, formerly Cliff Street, which has been closed by barricades for several years. The energy-efficient homes will be approximately 1,500 square feet with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a first floor laundry, an open concept kitchen and living area and a two-car attached garage. 

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation is planning to build three additional homes on the street in a second phase. 

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

Monday, September 16, 2024

On Saturday, September 14, more than 90 people visited southside landmarks and revitalization projects on two tour buses. The tour included stops at South Side High School, the Oak Hill Collaborative, St. Patrick Church, Ford Nature Center, The Youngstown Playhouse, Bernard Street Development, Glenwood Grounds, and also highlighted many other projects along the tour route. The tour was organized by Jon Howell and Vicki Vicars. YNDC Executive Director, Ian Beniston served as the tour guide on one of the buses. More tours are planned for the future.
 

Monday, September 16, 2024

On Sunday, September 15, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team Oak 7 arrived in Youngstown to complete neighborhood improvement projects and tree planting with YNDC and multiple partners.

The team is composed of Team Leader Monte Edwards, Naomi Winters, Jahari Henry, JC Sargeant, and Quinn Toebes. The team will be cleaning up and securing vacant property, planting trees, and completing other neighborhood improvement projects.
 

A seven-stop bus tour Saturday is designed to highlight efforts to revitalize and bring economic development to the city’s South Side.

“The South Side is filled with incredible people, thriving nonprofits, healthy businesses and faith-filled church communities,” said Vicki Vicars, a tour organizer who also is Thrive Mahoning Valley’s director of advancement and Ursuline Sisters Mission’s director of mission, equity and resilience.

The tour costs $10 with tickets available at Glenwood Grounds Coffee House, 2906 Glenwood Ave., or by calling Vicars at 330-717-8953. The tour is 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. The bus can hold up to 80 people and tour guides and site hosts will be on hand to provide information.

The tour starts at the former South High School, 1833 Market St., which Youngstown City School District closed in 1993. It has changed hands a few times and operated as charter schools.

Youngstown Jubilee Urban Development bought the property Oct. 26 for $500,000 and started a revitalization project to restore the former school. One of its first projects is renovating the former auditorium, including restoring the wood floors, replacing 800 broken seats and updating stage lighting and the audio system.

From there, the tour stops at the Oak Hill Collaborative and St. Patrick Church, both on Oak Hill Avenue.

The collaborative includes a maker space, a small business incubator and computer training courses through its Digital Advantage Initiative.

St. Patrick has long been an anchor in the Oak Hill neighborhood with the church built in 1926.

The tour stops at the Ford Nature Center at 840 Old Furnace Road in Mill Creek Park. The facility completed a $4 million improvement project last year, including a new natural exhibit hall, history room and bird observation room.

The bus continues to the Youngstown Playhouse at 600 Playhouse Lane, off Glenwood Avenue. The playhouse is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

The playhouse started in 1924 in a converted barn on Lincoln Avenue and moved to Market Street in the 1940s before building its current home in 1959.

The tour visits the Bernard Street Housing Development, which is underway on the Glenwood Avenue corridor.

The development encourages home ownership near the north end of Glenwood Avenue. In its first phase, three new homes are under construction by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. on Bernard Street, which used to be called Cliff Street and was closed by barricades for years. YNDC is also planning three additional homes on the street.

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

Monday, September 16, 2024

The City of Youngstown has awarded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funds to YNDC for multiple housing and neighborhood improvement projects:
HOME50 Strategic Acquisition and Rehabilitation - $141,779
HOME50 New Construction - $470,649
CDBG50 Roof Replacement  - $300,000
CDBG50 Emergency Repair - $300,000
CDBG50 REVITALIZE - $40,000
CDBG Neighborhood Improvements - $540,000

Many thanks to the City of Youngstown, Community Planning and Economic Development Department, City Council, and Mayor Brown for the support and partnership!

Monday, September 16, 2024

YNDC has begun a large-scale clean up effort in the Lincoln Knolls neighborhood of the Second Ward. The initial clean up efforts have included the surveying of dead street and vacant lot trees, the removal of 58 dead street and vacant lot trees, the clearing of vacant lots including a large dumping site that has resulted in the removal of more than 845 yards of vegetative debris, the clearing of overgrown and totally covered section of sidewalks on Rutledge Drive. Planning for additional clean up efforts is underway. This work is supported by 2nd Ward American Rescue Plan funding allocated by Councilman Jimmy Hughes.