Neighborhoods

Dollaine Holmes has worked for various social service agencies including the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority, YWCA of Youngstown, and Warriors, Inc. She is currently the Board Chair for Precious Ones Family Resource Center and the Youngstown Office of Minority Health Advisory Board. Dollaine is also a committee member for the Brides Out of Poverty of Mahoning County. She is a lifelong resident of Youngstown.

With about 7,000 vacant houses demolished in Youngstown in the past 18 years, those who have played major roles in that effort are working on programs to bring people back to the city and help current residents.

“It’s all part of a housing strategy started years ago to remediate the blight and start working to build new housing in the city,” said Michael Durkin, Youngstown’s code enforcement and blight remediation superintendent. “We’re not there yet, but we’re heading in the right direction.”

Since 2007, 6,939 vacant houses have been demolished with more than 500 taken down in six of those years. The most was 646 in 2018.

There will be 405 demolished by the end of this year, Durkin said. That is the most since 2019 – and greatly helped by a state grant, he said. Demolitions have slowed in recent years because such a large dent was put into the number of houses that needed to come down, particularly between 2015 and 2019, Durkin said.

There aren’t that many left to take down, Durkin said.

Also, some houses that were slated to be demolished have been saved through city programs, largely funded by its American Rescue Plan dollars, and efforts by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., Durkin said.

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

Monday, December 16, 2024

On December 16, 2024, the PNC Foundation awarded YNDC with a $7,500 grant for Housing Counseling.

The Housing Counseling Program empowers low- to moderate-income residents to identify and overcome barriers to homeownership, including inadequate savings, income, credit history, and understanding of the home buying process, and prepare them for future homeownership; and to provide existing low- to moderate-income homeowners with resources to maximize their limited incomes and minimize repair costs so that they can avoid foreclosure and improve their living conditions. Thank you to the PNC Foundation for their support!
 

With time running out to spend American Rescue Plan dollars, city council on Wednesday will consider allocating $2.28 million for numerous projects, decreasing a previous land acquisition fund by $1.8 million and setting aside whatever money is left toward the purchase of a new fire truck.

Several of the funding requests to be considered at Wednesday’s meeting come from the $2 million council gave each of its seven members in April 2023 — $14 million in total — to use for projects in their wards. 

Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th Ward, is proposing legislation to spend $705,000 of his ward’s allocation. Of that amount, $400,000 would be for a program to educate property owners about zoning and code violations and provide resources and recommendations for repairs and compliance; $100,000 each for improvements to a lot at the northwest corner of Steel Street and Mahoning Avenue for the police department’s community policing headquarters, and to upgrade and improve building access to the Stephanie Jenkins Resource Center, 2214 Mahoning Ave.; $80,000 for sidewalk improvements in the ward; and $25,000 for additional rehabilitation work at the Roy Street Park-West End Field.

Councilman Jimmy Hughes, D-2nd Ward, is seeking to spend $667,500 for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to manage “various 2nd Ward revitalization projects,” according to the ordinance.

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

On Monday, December 16 the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley awarded YNDC a $12,500 grant for neighborhood clean up, a targeted corridor and neighborhood stabilization program focused on cleaning up and transforming neighborhoods. The support was provided by the Kennedy Family Fund, Rick Shale Fund, and The Arnett Family Fund.

Funds will be used to purchase tools, materials, and supplies needed to clean up vacant properties, clean up and green vacant lots to bring them back into productive use, and make other neighborhood and corridor improvements. Many thanks to the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley!

Monday, December 16, 2024

On Thursday, December 12, 2024, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation was awarded $1,500,000 in grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh’s Affordable Housing Program for affordable housing development. PNC Bank is the member bank supporting YNDC’s application and partnering on the projects.

The grant award will assist with the construction of three new duplexes in the City of Youngstown along Glenwood Avenue and the renovation of four homes on Pearce Avenue and Lake Drive.

“YNDC is happy to announce this investment that will allow for the creation of another ten high quality new housing units along the greater Glenwood Avenue corridor as part of our long term and incremental neighborhood stabilization work. We are grateful to our partners at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, PNC Bank, Mahoning County Land Bank, City of Youngstown, Mahoning County, The Raymond John Wean Foundation, Flying High and others for their support and partnership in creating this success,” said Ian Beniston, YNDC Executive Director.

The projects will be completed in 2025. 

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation announced Tuesday that it will receive $1.5 million in grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh’s Affordable Housing Program for affordable housing development.

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

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) is receiving $1.5 million in grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh for affordable housing development.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here.

YNDC was awarded $1,500,000 in grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh to construct three new duplexes and renovate four abandoned houses in Youngstown.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

Wednesday, December 18th, 2024

On December 18, 2024, Huntington Bank donated the property at 3310 Sheridan Road to YNDC. The vacant home will be renovated and resold to a homeowner and the vacant lots will be utilized for future development. YNDC is currently renovating another house at 3222 Sheridan Road. Both projects are part of long term neighborhood stabilization efforts in the Powerstown neighborhood. Many thanks to Huntington Bank!