Neighborhoods

Access to capital is one of the things Emerald City Construction owner Keland Logan has struggled with since starting his business in 2020. He believes an emerging developers training program, as recommended in a housing strategy study released last month, could help.

“My issue has been consistent opportunities that make this business sustainable,” Logan said. “Construction is a cash-heavy business. You do have to have a bank, so to speak – either have to have access to funds or hard capital that you can access to do the jobs that you want to bid on.” Emerald City, based in Austintown, has its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certification, which qualifies the business for set aside opportunities.“But being able to access the resources to do these, you know, million dollar jobs, it still might as well be on the moon,” Logan said.  He often struggles to compete – and to make a profit.  “Having access to an entity or something that could help us to identify and become more proficient and effective would be huge,” Logan said.

The housing report was completed by the Greater Ohio Policy Center and the Reinvestment Fund and paid for by Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. The report said an emerging developers training program “would grow the ecosystem of local developers, builders, general contractors and subcontractors, expanding the region’s capacity to build.” The Mahoning Valley suffers from a lack of affordable housing that’s in good condition and meets the needs of the people who need it.

Spearheading It
Valley Partners is leading that recommendation’s implementation, but Theresa Miller, Valley Partners executive director, pointed out it’s early in the process. She said Valley Partners is working with an intern from Youngstown State University to research and determine what developers need.  Part of Valley Partners’ mission is helping small businesses. Though affordable housing technically isn’t part of the mission, Miller said organization officials recognize affordable housing is required if jobs are going to be created. “It’s all connected,” Miller said.

The study listed several programs in the region that focus on emerging developer training or similar initiatives. Pittsburgh’s Centralized Real Estate Accelerator and Cleveland’s Contractors on the Rise are among them. And both have a Valley connection.

Other Programs
Presley Gillespie, the first executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, has been leading Neighborhood Allies for the past 10 years. Neighborhood Allies launched the Centralized Real Estate Accelerator in 2020.

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

A population report from the Ohio Department of Development presents grim news for the future of Ohio and the Mahoning Valley. If the department’s projections come true, Ohio will lose nearly 6 percent of its residents by the year 2050. In the Mahoning Valley, the slide is much more severe.  Mahoning County will lose a full 22 percent of its 225,000 residents over the next 25 years; Trumbull County will lose 20 percent of its 200,000 residents, according to the projections. Given that there is strength in numbers, Ohio will be a much weaker state if those numbers prove to be accurate. Therefore, a collective multi-pronged effort to disprove those forecasts must be a clear priority for state and local leaders and economic development groups in the coming years and decades.

Fortunately the Mahoning Valley is off to a great start to do just that.

Just earlier this week, for example, the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber announced it is working with eight state chambers of commerce to promote issues focused on strengthening Ohio’s metropolitan areas. The focus areas include expanding Ohio’s labor force, attracting and developing talent and increasing housing opportunities. Each of those areas plays critical roles in population growth.

First, the size of a labor force is directly proportional to any given region’s population. In the Valley, that relationship is painfully clear. According to the state Department of Development, Trumbull County has 78,000 jobs today compared with 98,000 in 2000. Mahoning County’s job numbers have tumbled from 105,000 to 93,000 over the past quarter century.

Clearly, the Valley has its work cut out for it. Toward that end, our region is blessed with a multitude of job-creation and economic development agencies led by the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber, the Lake to River Economic Development District, JobsOhio and others. Those partnerships already have logged considerable success. Gov. Mike DeWine recently lauded the Valley for its gargantuan gains over the past five years, including a 34% increase in business deals, a 23% increase in new jobs, a 61% increase in new payroll and a 140% increase in retaining jobs. That incredible momentum must continue and expand. As for the goal of developing and expanding the pool of labor talent, the Mahoning Valley also stands on firm ground. A multitude of public workforce development and training agencies offers services to tens of thousands.

They include the Mahoning and Trumbull chapter of Ohio Means Jobs, Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association, programs at county career centers, the Regional Chamber’s JobsNow Workforce Initiative, Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries and the Youngstown State University Excellence Training Center that focuses on comprehensive training in a variety of cutting-edge advanced manufacturing skill sets. A final piece of the strategy to increase Valley population rests on ensuring adequate affordable housing for employees of new business and industry. Here, too, considerable progress has been logged.

Take Youngstown, for example. Over the past 18 years, about 7,000 vacant and blighted homes have been demolished to pave the way for new residential construction. A variety of public and private programs involving city government, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and the Mahoning County Land Bank is working to build new and affordable homes. Similar initiatives have taken root in Trumbull County as well.

To read the full story from the Tribune Chronicle, click here.

Benjamin Naatz is a Grass Cutting and Clean Up Team Member for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. Benjamin collaborates with a team of professional and labor staff in the implementation of large scale grass cutting and clean up of vacant homes, boarding of vacant housing, vacant lot management, basic construction, and other field and maintenance projects to improve the quality of life in strategic Youngstown neighborhoods.

The Mahoning County Land Bank laid the foundation for its shift toward new development in 2024 with the demolition of more than 300 houses and the clearing of abandoned commercial brownfields and residential sites.  One major achievement was the cleanup of the long-contaminated former Royal China factory in Sebring. The 20-acre site had been dormant since the 1980s, when the dinnerware producer closed the plant after 80 years of operation.

The two-year cleanup project included the delivery of 1,800 truckloads of clean soil to replace or encapsulate dirt riddled with lead and other contaminants. Much of the funding came from a $1.5 million state grant. The property owner, Michael Conny, owner of MAC Trailer in Alliance, will soon be eligible to apply for regulatory clearance to market the site.  The Land Bank recently secured nearly $3.5 million in grants from the Ohio Department of Development to clean up three brownfield sites in Youngstown, including the Youngstown Flea building, the site of the former McGuffey Mall and the asbestos-ridden South High Field House.

“These grants will pay for costly environmental cleanup work and clear barriers to progress and development at these locations,” says Debora Flora, executive director of the Land Bank.  In addition to commercial redevelopment, the Land Bank is increasing its inventory of buildable lots, setting the stage for its collaborative efforts with local partners to build new homes.

Of the 300-plus demolitions, nearly all were houses and residential multiplexes in Youngstown, with several in Campbell. The Land Bank has arranged more than 500 demolitions countywide over the past two years with the support of a $6.8 million state grant.  “We’re glad to be on the other end of the majority of the demolition work,” Flora says, “and we have a lot of exciting plans and partnerships working toward making spaces productive again.”

Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. is building six three-bedroom homes on lots the Land Bank acquired years ago through foreclosures on Mineral Springs Avenue in Youngstown’s Idora neighborhood. The work is financed by a state grant.

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

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) has more money now to help fix and repair homes area. Executives with Premier Bank presented a check Wednesday for $25,000 to directors of YNDC.

The money will be used to pay for much-needed improvements for existing houses. Up Next - Exit light, enter South Range HS marching band Because the housing stock is just so old and unstable if a child is in a home like that, it’s truly is a social detriment of health. We want to make sure they are safe,” said Ky Pegues, with Premier Bank.

Premier is one of a number of local banking institutions that have made contributions to the YNDC.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) has more money now to help fix and repair homes area. Executives with Premier Bank presented a check Wednesday for $25,000 to directors of YNDC The money will be used to pay for much-needed improvements for existing houses.

To read the full story from WYTV, click here.  

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

On February 12, 2025, YNDC and project partners celebrated the completion of phase one of the Bernard Street revitalization project and the start of phase two with a groundbreaking. Phase one of the project included: the assembly of land on the street; clearing of more than 500 cubic yards of debris; installation of new infrastructure: sidewalks, curbing, street paving, and other infrastructure; completion of home repair for existing property owners; construction and sale of three new homes; and preparation of three additional lots. Phase two will include the construction of three additional homes. The homes will be completed in early summer 2025.

The project is made possible through funding support from the City of Youngstown including the HOME Investment Partnership and First Ward American Rescue Plan funding. PNC Bank provided construction financing for phase one and Premier Bank for phase two. The vacant lots were assembled by and acquired from the Mahoning County Land Bank. The builder for both phases is Joe Koch Construction. The project also received support from The Raymond John Wean Foundation, City of Youngstown, and the Glenwood Neighbors Business Association. 
 

Premier Bank on Wednesday presented a $25,000 check to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.  The YNDC will use the funds for its Essential Home Repair program.

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

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) has been awarded a $25,000 check from Premier Bank on Wednesday.  The funds from the check will be used for YNDC's Essential Home Repair Program, which provides low-income homeowners in Mahoning County with necessary home repairs free of charge.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

Two years ago, a single-block street on the east side of Mill Creek Park, just off Glenwood Avenue, was closed to traffic, most of it overcome by brush and weeds.  Bernard Street, as it was then named, was also consumed with debris, and at one time became a refuge for errant dumping.  “It was overgrown. There wasn’t much here,” said Ian Beniston, executive director of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.

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