Neighborhoods

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) and the Mahoning County Land Bank broke ground on a new home in Sebring Thursday.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

The Mahoning County Land Bank and Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) are transforming another vacant lot into a single-family home. It is only the third time in the last several years that a new home is being built in the village of Sebring.  Leaders from the village joined executives with both the Land Bank and YNDC Thursday morning to formally break ground on this project on 15th Street.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here.

Remediation of the former Royal China site is complete, and receipt of a letter from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is the final step before the property can be redeveloped.

“There is a need to obtain a no further action letter from the Ohio EPA,” said Debora Flora, executive director of the Mahoning County Land Bank. 

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

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation broke ground on two new development sites offering building affordable housing options for the Mahoning County community.

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

Alan Williams is a Construction Team Member for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. Alan works with a team to complete housing rehabilitation projects to improve the quality of life in strategic Youngstown neighborhoods.

To address the gap in market knowledge in Youngstown and surrounding communities that form Youngstown’s laborshed (economic region), YNDC and partners will develop a customized data-driven model to determine the market viability of residential development. This model will allow YNDC to confidently assess and invest in the local housing market, reducing reliance on external market analyses that are often inadequate in understanding local context and true demand. This model will incorporate variables such as the health of a neighborhood, property conditions and vacancy rates of existing housing stock, market draw, birth rates, population change, demographics, and traditional site selection factors like proximity to community assets. It will also take into account lifestyle preferences, aligning housing types with what residents actually want, rather than relying solely on income or household size metrics that currently drive subsidized affordable housing construction. This approach recognizes the need for housing choice and flexibility, including the potential to help validate and position YNDC into the development of larger, multifamily housing options.

This proposal builds upon YNDC’s previous technical assistance partnerships to build community development capacity with the Center for Applied GIS at Youngstown State University and Alan Mallach, Senior Fellow with the Center for Community Progress, who previously contributed to the development of the market segmentation model that drives neighborhood-by-neighborhood service deployment. Additionally, it will strengthen relationships with the City of Youngstown and Mahoning County Land Bank and other key stakeholders to support targeted infill development. By breaking down housing needs and demand with localized conditions, YNDC and its partners will be better able to target services, investment, and outreach, ensuring that new housing construction directly addresses real community needs, is financially sustainable, and contributes to long-term neighborhood stabilization and growth.

ORCHID: To Trumbull County Central District Court Judge Thomas Campbell for contributing $100,000 to the county’s Mental Health and Recovery Board so that drug and alcohol treatment services for inmates at the county jail can continue. Those dollars represent surplus funding from his court’s Indigent Driver program that state law permits judges to transfer to addiction treatment programs for convicted criminals. TCMHRB Executive Director April Caraway was understandably pleased with the thoughtful donation as plans to scale back vital and often life-changing services to inmates — 80% of whom have problems with addiction or mental health — can now be canceled.

ORCHID: To Cortland City Council President Kevin Piros for his pledge to work with the mayor and service department for solutions to an utterly stinky problem in that community. At last week’s council meeting, residents complained about large numbers of skunks in neighborhoods. Resident Rita Dodd told council, “The smell is so bad you can’t use your air conditioner and have to keep windows closed. My dog and other people’s dogs have been sprayed.” We hope Piros and other city leaders will work seriously and quickly, perhaps in part by cracking down on those who feed the odiferous critters, to clear the air in town for good.

ONION: To former Vienna Township Fiscal Officer Linda McCullough for the mayhem and financial chaos she singlehandedly inflicted on the community through her devious criminal acts. At long last, McCullough last week finally fessed up and pleaded guilty to 10 criminal counts against her, which included two counts of theft in office, one count of telecommunications fraud and seven counts of tampering with records. The value of the property or service stolen was $116,370, according to her February indictment. But here’s the rub: The grand jury chose to indict her on only 10 of 35 possible suspicious illicit fund transfers, according to Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Charles Morrow. When sentencing occurs next month, we urge Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice to spare no mercy.

ORCHID: To the Trumbull County-based Beta Chi Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society for reaching its milestone 70th anniversary this year with a celebration at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Warren. The international organization promotes professional and personal growth of women teachers and excellence in education. We congratulate the society and wish it well as it continues its noble mission of developing model classroom teachers in our region.

ORCHID: To Rick Stockburger, CEO of BRITE Energy Innovators incubator in downtown Warren, for eight years of energetic, solid and successful leadership. Stockburger is leaving the incubator to assume an as-of-yet unidentified “prominent national role in the energy sector,” BRITE reported. Under Stockburger’s astute leadership, BRITE helped its portfolio companies raise more than $200 million in capital in 2024, has supported more than 650 energy-tech startups, catalyzed more than 2,100 jobs and raised more than half a billion dollars in third-party investment. Clearly his giant leadership shoes will be hard to fill.

ONION: To those careless cable and telecommunications companies that are wreaking havoc on properties in the Mahoning Valley in their expansive quest to install state-of-the-art fiber optic lines. Boardman Township trustees recently got an earful from angry residents about the damage and destruction such work has caused on private properties. Attorney John Shultz was one of the loudest: ”They have destroyed driveways … they have knocked out street lights” and parked heavy equipment in yards without permission. Because of limited government rules of townships, trustees unfortunately are relatively powerless to deal with the mess. We join trustees in urging affected property owners to report such destruction to the Federal Communications Commission.

ORCHID: To the Mahoning Valley Tree Corps and its partners for their successful efforts to beautify Youngstown and Warren. The corps, whose partners include the Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, CityScape and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., is working to enhance the tree canopy in the Valley’s two largest metro centers.

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

The City Council of Struthers held a pivotal meeting on March 6, 2025, focusing on the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), which aims to enhance housing conditions in the area. A key highlight was the discussion surrounding the rehabilitation program, emphasizing the importance of assessing foundational integrity before moving on to other aspects of home repair.

During the meeting, officials outlined the systematic approach taken in the rehab program, starting with the foundation and roof, followed by plumbing, electrical, and heating systems. The program is designed to address homes in need, with strict parameters in place to ensure that funds are used effectively. "We preserve the right to walk away from any project if the foundation is bad," one official stated, underscoring the program's commitment to quality and safety.

Struthers, along with neighboring Campbell and Brothers, has access to significant funding—$400,000 for Struthers and $300,000 each for Campbell and Brothers. This funding is crucial for projects that can range from $25,000 to nearly $100,000, depending on the needs of the homes. The officials expressed their dedication to maximizing available resources, stating, "We're gonna try to get you as much as we can through our program."

Additionally, the meeting highlighted collaboration with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, which will assist with overflow cases, ensuring that more residents can benefit from available funding. The Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership will also play a role in the inspection process, further enhancing the program's reach and effectiveness.

To read the full story from Citizen Portal click here. 

The Business Journal interviewed young officials with four area entities to learn about their goals and inspiration.

They are Ian Beniston, executive director of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.; Ben Bush, executive director of Forward Lawrence; Nick Chretien, executive director of Economic Action Group; and Matt Martin, executive director of Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership.

Ian Beniston

“For me, it’s about restoring some of the vitality that any healthy place has,” says Beniston. “Youngstown had it, lost it, and we’re working to have that again.”

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

Ellie Maurice is the Housing Program Assistant for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. Under the supervision of the Housing Director, Ellie assists with organizational marketing and administration of YNDC’s housing programs