^I thought the First National Bank lobby in the old Metropolitan Savings tower was heavily modified in the 1970s. Was it restored?

4 hours ago, ink said:

^I thought the First National Bank lobby in the old Metropolitan Savings tower was heavily modified in the 1970s. Was it restored?

You could be right. Honestly I only was inside of it when I was really young, so I possibly wouldn't have noticed if it was modified.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 Guy D'Astolfo

Yosteria Almost Ready for Expansion into Smoky Hollow

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Alex Zordich’s family roots are in the Smoky Hollow neighborhood and it is there that he wants to open a restaurant-winery.

In fact, Zordich wants to open his second Yosteria location on the property next to where his great-grandmother was born. The city’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved his request  Tuesday. 

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/yosteria-expansion-into-smoky-hollow-okd-by-zoning-appeals/

^I follow Yosteria on Instagram and cannot wait to try them sometime! 

I have to say, the location for the second Yosteria location is a bit...odd. It's just an old frame house on a largely abandoned residential street. I'm a huge preservationist, but even I questioned what exactly he saw in that old run-down house. But it is cool though because the house is right next door to the owner's family's original property in Youngstown. The renderings look really nice too. Smokey Hollow is far from being a nice walkable neighborhood, but it certainly has a good variety of food options now, some of the best in Youngstown! Noble Creature Cask House, Zizzo BBQ (formerly Space Kat), MVR, and now Yosteria are all within a couple blocks from eachother in Smokey Hollow.

 

Here's a rendering of the project:

On 3/15/2021 at 9:44 PM, ink said:

Beautiful space. I was able to see the interior a couple years ago. Are there any other historic bank lobbies intact in Youngstown. 

 

I mourn the loss of the type of architecture we had in the early 20th century.  Historic banks and train stations represent some of the best architecture this country has ever produced.  The way buildings made people feel mattered and architects understood that.  For banks, they wanted to look successful so people would feel safe depositing their money but they also wanted to make their depositors feel like they were important.  The idea behind the design of major train stations was similar-- make passengers feel like they were important.   Nowadays, we end up with crap like this and architects and their clients pat themselves on the back for being innovative: 

 

Naples high speed line train station (2018):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyLfLW3HzDs

 

Ugly buildings from around the world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJL70iFWLEI

 

Imho, James Howard Kunstler was onto something when he said that modern architecture (along with suburban design) creates too many places that aren't worth caring about, and if a nation gets to many places that aren't worth caring about, you risk ending up with a nation that's not worth defending. 

 

To keep the thread on topic... are there any proposals for re-use of the original bank space? 

 

To respond to the general architecture comments I made here, go this thread I created:

 

Edited March 19, 20214 yr by gildone

5 hours ago, gildone said:

 

I mourn the loss of the type of architecture we had in the early 20th century.  Historic banks and train stations represent some of the best architecture this country has ever produced.  The way buildings made people feel mattered and architects understood that.  For banks, they wanted to look successful so people would feel safe depositing their money but they also wanted to make their depositors feel like they were important.  The idea behind the design of major train stations was similar-- make passengers feel like they were important.   Nowadays, we end up with crap like this and architects and their clients pat themselves on the back for being innovative: 

 

Naples train station:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyLfLW3HzDs

 

Ugly buildings from around the world:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJL70iFWLEI

 

Imho, James Howard Kunstler was onto something when he said that modern architecture (along with suburban design) creates too many places that aren't worth caring about, and if a nation gets to many places that aren't worth caring about, you risk ending up with a nation that's not worth defending. 

 

To keep the thread on topic... are there any proposals for re-use of the original bank space? 

 

To respond to the general architecture comments I made here, go this thread I created:

 

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Naples train station.  In fact, it's quite nice.  The inside is great also.

51 minutes ago, jeremyck01 said:

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Naples train station.  In fact, it's quite nice.  The inside is great also.

 

I'm responding in the Architecture:  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly thread so this thread can stay on the Youngstown developments subject. 

Edited March 19, 20214 yr by gildone
To move discussion to appropriate thread

Speaking of old banks, check out this stunning restoration of the old Potter National Bank in East Liverpool, OH. It's not quite Youngstown area, but it's still pretty close. They turned the old bank into an upscale restaurant called Renovatio's. It adds to the suprising revitalization of Downtown East Liverpool, which now has a new trade school (that renovated an old department store building), a vegan restaurant, a new apartment building, and a coffee shop. I can't believe how nice this new restaurant looks, and I'd love to see Youngstown do something similar with the Chase Bank space. In fact, besides Bistro 1907, Downtown Youngstown really doesn't have any fancy upscale restaurants, which I think there is still a market for.

 

 

They even have a rooftop bar:

 

 

Love it!

Looks great.  If downtown East Liverpool is seeing investment like this, that has to be a good sign. 

Bird Scooters Launch in Warren

https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2021/03/e-scooters-ride-in-warren/

 

In completely unexpected and bizarre news, Bird E-Scooters have launched not in Warren. The scooters were brought in by a local businesswoman who franchised them out through her own company (I guess that's a thing now?) and plans to have 100 scooters in the city. While I'm excited to see this, I'm just a bit worried about the commercial viability of e-scooters in a city like Warren. Most of the attractions in Warren are in Downtown, all of which can be accessed easily by foot. I'm not sure how exactly people will use these scooters.

 

The good news is the owner says she plans to launch them in Youngstown eventually, which will be great! At least in Youngstown, they'd be useful to get people from YSU, to Downtown, and even to Mill Creek Park. While Warren's attractions are all around the same town square, Youngstown's attractions are quite spread out. I've long said e-scooters would be a great asset for the city and would get YSU students and visitors to go Downtown more often as the walk can get a bit long depending on which part of campus you're on. For example, the biggest YSU dorms are actually on the North Side by Wick Park - that would be a good 15-20 walk to Downtown, but an easy 5 minute scooter ride. Anyways, I hope they succeed in Warren just so they come here eventually! I may even have to go rent one  out and do a photo tour of Warren one day this summer!

17 hours ago, Dblcut3 said:

Bird Scooters Launch in Warren

https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2021/03/e-scooters-ride-in-warren/

 

In completely unexpected and bizarre news, Bird E-Scooters have launched not in Warren. The scooters were brought in by a local businesswoman who franchised them out through her own company (I guess that's a thing now?) and plans to have 100 scooters in the city. While I'm excited to see this, I'm just a bit worried about the commercial viability of e-scooters in a city like Warren. Most of the attractions in Warren are in Downtown, all of which can be accessed easily by foot. I'm not sure how exactly people will use these scooters.

 

The good news is the owner says she plans to launch them in Youngstown eventually, which will be great! At least in Youngstown, they'd be useful to get people from YSU, to Downtown, and even to Mill Creek Park. While Warren's attractions are all around the same town square, Youngstown's attractions are quite spread out. I've long said e-scooters would be a great asset for the city and would get YSU students and visitors to go Downtown more often as the walk can get a bit long depending on which part of campus you're on. For example, the biggest YSU dorms are actually on the North Side by Wick Park - that would be a good 15-20 walk to Downtown, but an easy 5 minute scooter ride. Anyways, I hope they succeed in Warren just so they come here eventually! I may even have to go rent one  out and do a photo tour of Warren one day this summer!

Yeah I live 12 minutes from downtown Warren and don't see it making it.  Hopefully I'm wrong.

April Design Review Committee Meeting:

 

 

Stambaugh Auditorium Renovations:

This project has been proposed for a while, but it finally seems to be in motion now. Stambaugh Auditorium is planning to redo the front steps and plaza by cleaning and removing some of the current stones. This is definitely much needed as the steps/plaza have a lot of cracks in the stone. They also are adding a new ADA accessible ramp between the steps/plaza and the side garden, a second flag pole, and new lighting for night time, which can also be lit in different colors for different events. For the most part though, the project is just to clean up the building, nothing will really change from the current iconic design.

 

Ohio Urban Renaissance Project:
The community group Ohio Urban Renaissance is doing a project on their property on the corner of North & Arlington in the former Elks Lodge Building. The project is basically to take an overgrown vacant lot attached to the building and make it into an outdoor plaza area with terraced seating, a garden, and oddly enough, an outdoor pizza oven. They plan to eventually put a wooden fence around it though so it won't really be a public space. It's located in an extremely blighted area though so it shouldn't really matter.

 

Penguin City Brewing Project:

Penguin City Brewing has recently purchased the old Republic Steel Warehouse building along East Federal Street on the far east side of Downtown. This is a really big project which will house Penguin City's corporate offices, its brewing site, their taproom, and a separate taproom, DOPE Winery & Cider, which will be owned by the first professional African American female brewer in Ohio. In other words, this should hopefully end up being a big destination, especially since it has two breweries/taprooms. This is a really cool way to honor the industrial past of the city while also bringing in something new - Youngstown Flea has also done the same with their project, almost across the street from this, where they reused a factory building from the 19th century. Also, the new Andrews Avenue mural is located to the side of this building and is another great project in this corner of the city - in fact, I was shocked at how great it looked when I drove past it the other day! I hope to get some pictures of it soon.

Thursday, April 8, 2021 Dan O'Brien Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on email Share on print

City Targets East Side Land for Future Development

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The city is considering rezoning about 30 acres on the East Side to industrial green classification, an initiative that officials say will make this area more competitive in attracting new business to this section of the city.

“We are positioning ourselves with shovel ready sites that we can leverage as another tool for economic development and housing opportunities,” Nikki Posterli, the city’s director of community planning and economic development, said in an email.

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/city-targets-east-side-land-future-development/

LOL, I'm really late to the party here!  I feel so out of touch with what's going on downtown these days.  This is partly because I'm working from home, and don't get downtown much, and partly because I switched offices in 2018, and my work is no longer centered in the Youngstown area.

 

I did want to say though, that the Huntington Bank lobby is amazing.  I think it's even better than the Chase bank lobby.  I don't think the Metro Tower lobby is that great, but I'm not positive.  I am sure that the Home Savings lobby is not very interesting.  As for photos, I learned in one of my architecture history classes, that banks don't really like people taking photos of their lobbies for security reasons.  That's probably why it's difficult to find them.

 

If you're interested in beautiful original spaces, you might also want to check out the Ohio One building.  I haven't seen it since the renovation, but SMArts (Students Motivated by the Arts) is located in a space that used to be the lobby for Ohio Edison.  I'm not sure how accessible that space is to the public, these days.  The whole building is well preserved, though.

 

I didn't read the article, but there's been talk of redevelopment of the Wick Six properties for years.  At our neighborhood meetings, Nate Pinkard, former 3rd ward councilman, mentioned several times that the city would probably make the area another light industrial park.  He said that the other industrial parks around the city were actually quite successful.

 

I'm also excited to see the Stambaugh Auditorium renovations.  I'm most excited about the façade cleaning.  I think that's going to be more striking than you might realize.  I also have high hopes for the added lighting.  That building could be spectacular at night, if lighted properly.

 

Finally, not sure if you're aware, but there is a new health food restaurant in the former Cultivate location.  I'm not sure if they have just had a soft opening last week, or if it's official, or what.  I think it's called Prepped Wellness.  I also talked with Pat, from Commonwealth (the non-profit that spurred much of the Elm St. redevelopment) and she says that there will hopefully be another BBQ/American food establishment opening soon.  Revs Ribs was doing great business, but had to close due to health reasons.

On 4/11/2021 at 12:56 AM, JRC said:

LOL, I'm really late to the party here!  I feel so out of touch with what's going on downtown these days.  This is partly because I'm working from home, and don't get downtown much, and partly because I switched offices in 2018, and my work is no longer centered in the Youngstown area.

 

I did want to say though, that the Huntington Bank lobby is amazing.  I think it's even better than the Chase bank lobby.  I don't think the Metro Tower lobby is that great, but I'm not positive.  I am sure that the Home Savings lobby is not very interesting.  As for photos, I learned in one of my architecture history classes, that banks don't really like people taking photos of their lobbies for security reasons.  That's probably why it's difficult to find them.

 

If you're interested in beautiful original spaces, you might also want to check out the Ohio One building.  I haven't seen it since the renovation, but SMArts (Students Motivated by the Arts) is located in a space that used to be the lobby for Ohio Edison.  I'm not sure how accessible that space is to the public, these days.  The whole building is well preserved, though.

 

I didn't read the article, but there's been talk of redevelopment of the Wick Six properties for years.  At our neighborhood meetings, Nate Pinkard, former 3rd ward councilman, mentioned several times that the city would probably make the area another light industrial park.  He said that the other industrial parks around the city were actually quite successful.

 

I'm also excited to see the Stambaugh Auditorium renovations.  I'm most excited about the façade cleaning.  I think that's going to be more striking than you might realize.  I also have high hopes for the added lighting.  That building could be spectacular at night, if lighted properly.

 

Finally, not sure if you're aware, but there is a new health food restaurant in the former Cultivate location.  I'm not sure if they have just had a soft opening last week, or if it's official, or what.  I think it's called Prepped Wellness.  I also talked with Pat, from Commonwealth (the non-profit that spurred much of the Elm St. redevelopment) and she says that there will hopefully be another BBQ/American food establishment opening soon.  Revs Ribs was doing great business, but had to close due to health reasons.

I'm glad to see the new place open on Elm Street and I'm glad to hear another is coming. Plus, I believe the old Dorian Books building is getting some work done to it. Also, is the new "Prepped Wellness" place an actual health foods store or just another one of the million Herbalife fronts popping up in the area? Either way, at least someone's using that site. To be honest, I was worried Elm Street would be gone after COVID, but it's looking better now.

I'm not into health food myself, so it's not something I've paid close attention to.  But, I believe the owner started in the kitchen incubator next door, and has decided to try operating a restaurant at an actual brick and mortar location, since the café space became available.  Here's their website, although it doesn't appear to have been updated to reflect their new location, yet: https://www.preppedwellness.com

 

I'm curious to see what they do with the Shagrin Building. (former Dorian Books)  The former owners of the building had leased the Richard Brown United Methodist church up the street, and were making it an events center.  But, they just got started right before COVID hit, so I don't know how they're doing these days.

Historic Youngstown Church to be Auctioned

https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/historic-youngstown-church-to-be-auctioned/

 

Speaking of the Richard Brown United Methodist Church.....The church is being auctioned off starting at $60,000. The 4,400 square foot stone church was built in 1905 and designed by famous architect Charles Owsley. It also sits right on Wick Park and is right by the shops and cafes along Elm Street.

 

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Dan O'Brien Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on email Share on print

Developer Plans to Begin Work On Gallagher Building This Summer

 

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The owner of the Gallagher Building says he expects to begin renovation work on the downtown landmark sometime this year.

“My intent is to start while we still have decent weather,” Brian Angelilli, principal of YO Properties 23 LLC, told members of the city’s board of zoning appeals commission Tuesday. “The latest would be August or September we’d be underway – maybe sooner.”

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/developer-plans-to-begin-work-on-gallagher-building-this-summer/

2 hours ago, yanni_gogolak said:

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Dan O'Brien Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on email Share on print

Developer Plans to Begin Work On Gallagher Building This Summer

 

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The owner of the Gallagher Building says he expects to begin renovation work on the downtown landmark sometime this year.

“My intent is to start while we still have decent weather,” Brian Angelilli, principal of YO Properties 23 LLC, told members of the city’s board of zoning appeals commission Tuesday. “The latest would be August or September we’d be underway – maybe sooner.”

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/developer-plans-to-begin-work-on-gallagher-building-this-summer/

If only I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say renovations were ready to begin on this building 😁 Honestly at this point, I'm surprised the building is still in good enough shape to restore. I'm thrilled to see it should finally get renovated, it's got a ton of potential and is currently a bit of an eyesore. It's also pretty much the only big building Downtown that is in that bad of shape still. 

On 4/17/2021 at 3:26 PM, Dblcut3 said:

Historic Youngstown Church to be Auctioned

https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/historic-youngstown-church-to-be-auctioned/

 

Speaking of the Richard Brown United Methodist Church.....The church is being auctioned off starting at $60,000. The 4,400 square foot stone church was built in 1905 and designed by famous architect Charles Owsley. It also sits right on Wick Park and is right by the shops and cafes along Elm Street.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens with this.  A neighbor, who knows the current tenants, doesn't think they are in a position to buy it. (from the photos, it looks like they're also still running their florist business, in addition to the events center)

 

This building has a lot of potential.  If I didn't already have a house I love, I'd consider buying and moving in.  It might still have a working pipe organ. (not sure if the Methodists took it with them, when they left, I didn't see it mentioned in the listing)  I've also heard rumors that the original stained glass is hiding behind that modern turquoise window.  On the interior, that opening is covered in newer wood paneling.  Since that window faces south, I think they covered the window because they probably had a problem with solar heat gain.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Jeremy Lydic Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on email Share on print

Chase Tower Sells at Auction for $1.15 Million

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — After a three-day auction, a redevelopment investment group based in Miami, Fla. placed the winning $1.15 million bid for the historic Chase Tower building downtown.

The auction closed Wednesday afternoon after starting April 19. Alex Jelepis, executive vice president and director of NAI Pleasant Valley, managed the auction, which was held online via the Ten-X Commercial website.

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/chase-tower-sells-at-auction-for-1-150m/

Tuesday, May 4, 2021 Josh Medore Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on email

Developers from Across Country Tour 20 Federal Place

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – With about a month to go until proposals for redeveloping 20 Federal Place are due, the city of Youngstown hosted tours of the building Monday, drawing developers from the Mahoning Valley and far beyond.

In all, about 30 people spent three hours walking through the 95-year-old former department store. Nine development firms from across the country were on the tour, according to Doug Rasumussen, president of consulting firm Steadfast City, which is working with the city on the project.

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/developers-from-across-country-tour-20-federal-ahead-of-34m-project/

 

Here is the link to the pitch document:

https://youngstownohio.gov/sites/default/files/20 Federal - Prospectus Pitch Deck_FINAL_REDUCED.pdf

Youngstown Approves EPA Grant for Downtown EV Charging Stations

https://businessjournaldaily.com/youngstown-approves-epa-grant-for-ev-charging-stations/

 

City Council just approved a $60,000 EPA grant to install 8 electric charging stations at two different locations in Downtown Youngstown. The first location is the lot at the corner of Fifth and Federal next to the WRTA Station. This lot will hopefully also see some improvements as it currently does not look too inviting. The second is at the parking lot where the former Kress Building was, near the corner of Federal and Phelps. The charging stations should be installed by fall hopefully, though I have my doubts about that timeline for the Fifth and Federal lot - due to its location next to Fifth, which is receiving a ton of streetscaping work, I assume the city may opt for a complete resurfacing on that lot.

In case anyone's interested, I came across some more renderings of the SMART2 infrastructure projects in Downtown Youngstown on this page. Also, in terms of construction, Fifth Avenue is moving along quite nicely and several blocks are nearly finished. The new protected bike lanes and road diet along Mahoning Avenue linking Downtown and Mill Creek Park are nearly finished as well!

 

West Federal Street:

 

Front Street:

 

 

South Phelps:

 

Rayen Avenue:

 

Personally, I'm most excited for the Front Street project! Currently, the road is in really bad shape. It would be great to finally revamp that street to complement the new amphitheater and riverfront park! It's definitely a long way off, but Front Street would be prime for new construction once this project is finished. There's a couple parking lots where I've always envisioned luxury apartments/condos overlooking the amphitheater and river - but again, I'm just dreaming basically 😁

Ugh.....

 

It's sad, but is anyone actually surprised? Plus let's be real, the announcement of the electric Ford F-150 pretty much stole whatever lane Lordstown may have had in the electric truck market

Foster Theater Restoration:

There's some great news today! It's official, the historic Foster Theater on Glenwood Avenue will be saved by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC)! It's unclear what they plan to do with the building though, but I imagine they will maintain some form of theater or concert venue usage. Anyone familiar with Youngstown will know that the theater has had a seedy reputation ever since it became an adult theater in the 70s. In fact, it was one of the last operating adult movie theaters in America until COVID finally caused it to close for good. It's great that this building will be saved as it is the last neighborhood theater left in the city besides the Uptown Theater. Believe it or not, the building actually isn't in horrible shape - in fact, the marquee even still lights up!

 

 

 

 

 

Also, the YNDC will also be restoring the historic and long-vacant Superintendent's Residence in Mill Creek Park at 914 Old Furnace Road and turning it into a single family residence. It's in a good neighborhood with a great park-side location, so I'm sure it won't last long on the market!

^Great news! The Foster is worth keeping. 

It looks like work on South Phelps Street has already begun, which kind of shocks me. They've ripped up the entire street from Federal down to Front by the amphitheater. I assume this means they're going ahead with the planned streetscaping project - but who knows, maybe they're just doing some other sewer or electric work under there like they did to North Phelps Street a million times already 😁

 

The plan is to keep car traffic, but to increase sidewalk space and make it a pedestrian-prioritized corridor to link YSU to the riverfront. Also, the Mill Creek Park Connector, the protected bike lanes between Mill Creek and Downtown, appear to be pretty much finished. I'm not sure when the grand opening will be, but honestly, they look to be in a useable state already.

 

Here's the proposal for South Phelps. I've also seen proposals where they curve the roadway into an S shape to try to keep traffic slow through there. Honestly, I think they should've just went all out and make the whole thing an extended pedestrian plaza. It's not like many cars will need to use this anyways. They could have even gotten a bit ambitious and made a plaza outside of City Hall, but that's obviously not going to happen.

@Dblcut3wrote:

"The new protected bike lanes and road diet along Mahoning Avenue linking Downtown and Mill Creek Park are nearly finished as well!"

 

So even Youngstown is lapping Cleveland on protected bike lanes!  So far in the region, we have: Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Sandusky, and now Youngstown. Have I missed any?  Cleveland should be embarrassed.  Edit:  I looked at the link dblcut3 provided and found that Akron is planning a Rubber City Heritage Trail network of protected bikeways similar in concept, I assume, to what Indianapolis did:  https://gpdgroup.com/case-study/rubber-city-heritage-trail/

 

"Honestly, I think they should've just went all out and made the whole thing an extended pedestrian plaza."

 

Are there a lot of downtown residents in the vicinity?  Generally speaking, pedestrianized areas tend to work best when there are people living there and when there is good public transit in the city at-large.  If the expectation is for people to drive to a pedestrian mall, it's likely to fail.  See what happened to Front St. In Cuyahoga Falls for example.

 

Edited June 28, 20213 yr by gildone
add info about Akron.

I had brunch down at Bistro 1907 on Sunday (it was packed) and was really happy to see the protected bike lanes on Mahoning Avenue almost complete.  Will they have landscaped medians like the ones on Front Street, at least like in the renderings posted above? I didn't see any renders for the Mahoning Avenue portion. 

 

It's also great to hear about the Foster.  YNDC has done some great work in Idora.  They actually have a handful of houses under rehab not too far from the Foster.

On 6/28/2021 at 5:52 PM, gildone said:

@Dblcut3wrote:

"The new protected bike lanes and road diet along Mahoning Avenue linking Downtown and Mill Creek Park are nearly finished as well!"

 

So even Youngstown is lapping Cleveland on protected bike lanes!  So far in the region, we have: Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Sandusky, and now Youngstown. Have I missed any?  Cleveland should be embarrassed.  Edit:  I looked at the link dblcut3 provided and found that Akron is planning a Rubber City Heritage Trail network of protected bikeways similar in concept, I assume, to what Indianapolis did:  https://gpdgroup.com/case-study/rubber-city-heritage-trail/

 

"Honestly, I think they should've just went all out and made the whole thing an extended pedestrian plaza."

 

Are there a lot of downtown residents in the vicinity?  Generally speaking, pedestrianized areas tend to work best when there are people living there and when there is good public transit in the city at-large.  If the expectation is for people to drive to a pedestrian mall, it's likely to fail.  See what happened to Front St. In Cuyahoga Falls for example.

 

There's probably under a thousand residents Downtown, so not many. But for context, the block above it was converted from an alley into a pedestrian mall, with the vision of Cleveland's East Fourth Street in mind. So far, it has been successful and several businesses are using it for seating. Unlike Cuyahoga Falls (or even Youngstown which once closed Federal Street to cars), Phelps is not a crucial road for cars, and is already just a one way alley basically. I just feel like if there's already one block of a pedestrian plaza, and people don't drive on the road much anyways, that the pedestrian plaza should have just been expanded to another block. The lack of car traffic shouldn't matter as the current street doesn't have any on-street parking anyways, and it's already at the busiest pedestrian corner of Downtown anyways. Here's a post where I show some pictures of the new and existing pedestrian plaza Downtown. Keep in mind, it's gotten more use though since the time when those photos were taken.

 

12 hours ago, MissinOhio said:

I had brunch down at Bistro 1907 on Sunday (it was packed) and was really happy to see the protected bike lanes on Mahoning Avenue almost complete.  Will they have landscaped medians like the ones on Front Street, at least like in the renderings posted above? I didn't see any renders for the Mahoning Avenue portion. 

 

It's also great to hear about the Foster.  YNDC has done some great work in Idora.  They actually have a handful of houses under rehab not too far from the Foster.

I'm not sure if they are landscaping the Mahoning Avenue one as there was never a rendering to my knowledge. But based on the medians they put up, I doubt it. They don't look like they have space for plants. I hope they at least spruce it up with some painted lanes on the bike path and maybe some pylons or something in the medians. Also, glad to hear you got to Bistro 1907! I haven't been there in a while, but I remember liking their chicken and waffles a lot! And speaking of the YNDC in Idora, they've also just broke ground on 4 (I think) new houses on Mineral Springs Drive.

Warren's Packard Apartments Awarded $819,000 in Tax Credits for Renovation

https://businessjournaldaily.com/packard-apartments-awarded-819000-in-tax-credits-for-renovation/

 

The historic Packard Apartments in Warren, built in 1898, has just secured $819,000 in Ohio historic preservation tax credits to help fund its restoration. The project is estimated to cost nearly $5 million and will be home to seventeen market rate apartments. These are located north of Downtown, but within walking distance of it. The neighborhood isn't in good shape, but it is still home to many beautiful examples of Victorian and Queen Anne architecture as it was once Warren's most prestigious neighborhood.

 

On 6/29/2021 at 11:47 PM, Dblcut3 said:

I'm not sure if they are landscaping the Mahoning Avenue one as there was never a rendering to my knowledge. But based on the medians they put up, I doubt it. They don't look like they have space for plants. I hope they at least spruce it up with some painted lanes on the bike path and maybe some pylons or something in the medians. Also, glad to hear you got to Bistro 1907! I haven't been there in a while, but I remember liking their chicken and waffles a lot! And speaking of the YNDC in Idora, they've also just broke ground on 4 (I think) new houses on Mineral Springs Drive.

 

I was driving, but now that I think about it, there didn't look like much room for landscaping.   I hope landscaping takes place on Front Street.

 

Last Sunday was my first time at Bistro 1907 and I was impressed.  

 

That's great to hear YNDC also broke ground on 4 additional new builds.  They just did 3 over by me on Helena not that long ago!

The Richard Brown church was bought by a neighbor.  They have agreed to let us have our monthly neighborhood meetings here.  We had our first post-COVID, in-person meeting here last Monday.

 

At the meeting, the new owners gave us a summary of what they plan to do.  They will continue to rent out space for events, like weddings, etc.  But, they also know people interested in coming in and opening a small coffee shop, and a bicycle shop. (I don't know much about it, but apparently, there aren't any real high-end bike shops between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, so that's the market they plan to serve)  In addition, they know people who need office space for their small start-up businesses.  The new owners have their own business, and have moved their office to here, as well.

 

 

19 hours ago, JRC said:

The Richard Brown church was bought by a neighbor.  They have agreed to let us have our monthly neighborhood meetings here.  We had our first post-COVID, in-person meeting here last Monday.

 

At the meeting, the new owners gave us a summary of what they plan to do.  They will continue to rent out space for events, like weddings, etc.  But, they also know people interested in coming in and opening a small coffee shop, and a bicycle shop. (I don't know much about it, but apparently, there aren't any real high-end bike shops between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, so that's the market they plan to serve)  In addition, they know people who need office space for their small start-up businesses.  The new owners have their own business, and have moved their office to here, as well.

 

Awesome! I'm glad to hear someone in the neighborhood bought the church! I sort of hope they don't put a straight up coffee shop in there though as I worry they'll really cut into Culturehouse's business. But a bicycle store is a great idea - I think Wick Park is the perfect neighborhood for some unique stores like that which could draw people from the whole area in. 

City Eyes $1.5 million expansion of Downtown Street Projects

https://businessjournaldaily.com/city-eyes-expansion-of-downtown-street-projects/

 

The City has announced today that it intends to extend the $31 million SMART2 project Downtown in which several Downtown streets are being rebuilt. This expansion would consist of a road diet for East Boardman Street and Walnut Street as well as replacing the closed pedestrian street from the end of Walnut Street up the hill to Choffin area with a staircase, similar to the one on North Phelps Street. This expansion will essentially lead to the rebuilding on every street in Downtown that needed redone - Walnut currently has a landscaped median already, but has been in desperate need of a lane reduction. It's great to see this side of Downtown will be getting some attention now.

 

 

Smokey Hollow Yosteria

Also, a new design for the new Yosteria location in Smokey Hollow was approved today. It looks a bit better than the last one in my opinion. But, it's still a strange project. Essentially, it's a pizza shop opening up in one of the last houses remaining of Smokey Hollow, a once bustling Italian neighborhood home to the owner Alex Zordich's ancestors. He says he hopes to have it open in a few weeks. Currently, he already operates a Cornersburg location. It's a really bizarre project in my opinion, but I'll give him credit, it's definitely a unique and creative use for an otherwise unremarkable building which wouldn't have lasted long without a project like this.

 

26 minutes ago, Dblcut3 said:

City Eyes $1.5 million expansion of Downtown Street Projects

https://businessjournaldaily.com/city-eyes-expansion-of-downtown-street-projects/

 

The City has announced today that it intends to extend the $31 million SMART2 project Downtown in which several Downtown streets are being rebuilt. This expansion would consist of a road diet for East Boardman Street and Walnut Street as well as replacing the closed pedestrian street from the end of Walnut Street up the hill to Choffin area with a staircase, similar to the one on North Phelps Street. This expansion will essentially lead to the rebuilding on every street in Downtown that needed redone - Walnut currently has a landscaped median already, but has been in desperate need of a lane reduction. It's great to see this side of Downtown will be getting some attention now.

 

I think the added street projects are a good idea.  I think Boardman Street looks OK, (and maybe that's because I'm used to it, having worked in that area for so long) but I understand that it could look better for EGCC.  Walnut Street definitely could stand to go on a diet.  From looking at old pictures of downtown, I can see that it was widened during the Urban Renewal era.  I guess they thought it would help funnel the thousands of commuters out of downtown faster, at the end of the day.  Now, it's just a ridiculously wide, underused street that helps make downtown look even emptier.

Robinson-Shuba Statue Unveiled in Downtown

https://businessjournaldaily.com/robinson-shuba-statue-unveiled-in-a-victorious-ceremony/

 

The $400,000 Robinson-Shuba statue project has been completed in Downtown Youngstown's new Wean Park (home to the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater). The statue commemorates the famous April 18, 1946 handshake between Jackie Robinson and Youngstown native George "Shotgun" Shuba. Shuba's son Mike Shuba was present at the ceremony and gave a speech. The handshake, which followed Robinson's first at-bat home run, was the first interracial handshake in major league sports, which caused a lot of controversy at the time. The project also includes a small pedestrian plaza around the statue, which includes the terraced seating picture below.

 

 

YSU Excellence Training Center Opens

https://businessjournaldaily.com/leaders-tout-excellence-training-center-opening-at-ysu/

 

The new YSU Excellence Training Center on the corner of Fifth and Commerce in Downtown has just opened. The building saw the re-use of an existing vacant industrial building, as well as a new addition to the building leading up the hill along Fifth to the corner of Wood and Fifth. The building includes space for uses such as additive manufacturing, robotics training, machining classes, and more. The project was done in partnership with Eastern Gateway Community College and will also have programs available to K-12 students and displaced workers. The building design is pretty lacking an I wish they had done something to spruce up the facade along Commerce - but at least it's something new that will help further expand YSU's footprint into Downtown along the Fifth Avenue corridor.

 

 

 

I've got some random small news from around the city today:

 

CityScape Buys Briel's Flowers Property:

https://businessjournaldaily.com/cityscape-buys-briels-flowers-property-for-145000/

Youngstown CityScape, the group who landscapes many public areas and roadways around the city, specifically in Downtown, has purchased Briel Flowers, a 90+ year old business on Belle Vista Avenue in the West Side. Briel Flowers is the last greenhouse/gardening center left in the city of Youngstown. CityScape hasn't outlined their full plans yet, but they plan to keep the business operating as a greenhouse and will use it to aid in their landscaping projects.  

 

Greyland Vintage Opens Downtown:

A vintage store and record store, known as West Side Vintage, opened a couple years ago on Mahoning Avenue across from West Side Bowl. They are moving locations to Downtown and will be occupying the space which once housed the former Greyland Gallery vintage store, which was a well known business for many years. They will be changing their name to Greyland Vintage. It's a bit sad to see them leave the West Side. I was hoping them, West Side Bowl, and others would help revitalize that corridor - I have big dreams of that "Rocky Ridge" business district being Youngstown's version of Highland Square! 😁 But on the contrary, it's great to finally have an interesting retail attraction in Downtown which will draw people into the area. It will also be on Boardman Street, which is a very underused part of Downtown.

 

New Shops on Mahoning Avenue in Rocky Ridge:

And just as West Side Vintage moved out of the Rocky Ridge business district, a few new places moved in luckily! Cyclebreakers Records just moved into a spot inside of West Side Bowl, which helps fill the void West Side Vintage left in the neighborhood. 

 

Across the street, a new vegan restaurant called Cosmic Kitchen recently opened. And a health foods market/holistic market called Evolve Market opened up next door to that. Again, I hope this stuff will be the catalyst for finally pushing this neighborhood into being a destination similar to Akron's Highland Square. There's a ton of potential for these few blocks!

 

On 7/29/2021 at 2:58 PM, Dblcut3 said:

Across the street, a new vegan restaurant called Cosmic Kitchen recently opened. And a health foods market/holistic market called Evolve Market opened up next door to that. Again, I hope this stuff will be the catalyst for finally pushing this neighborhood into being a destination similar to Akron's Highland Square. There's a ton of potential for these few blocks!

 

 

Interesting goal / comparison. I hope it works!

$235,000 Property Purchase Could House YSU STEM Competition Teams

Tuesday, August 3, 2021 Jeremy Lydic

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Youngstown State University engineering and engineering technology competition teams could have a new home after the latest real estate purchase by the university.

During its regular meeting Monday, the Ohio Controlling Board approved YSU’s $235,000 purchase of a piece of property at 150 W. Rayen Ave. downtown. The space is currently leased and occupied by Youngstown Plant & Flower Inc.

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/235000-property-purchase-could-house-ysu-stem-competition-teams/

Huntington to Move Downtown Branch, Put Mahoning Building Up for Sale

Wednesday, August 4, 2021 George Nelson

 

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Huntington National Bank plans to move its downtown branch into TCF Bank’s space in the Stambaugh Building and put its current space on the market, a bank official said Tuesday.

A relocation of the downtown Huntington branch from 23 Federal Plaza was signaled at Tuesday morning’s meeting of Youngstown’s design review committee, which considered a request submitted by Tonya Jefferson, representing LAAD Sign & Lighting of Ravenna, to replace TCF’s existing non-illuminated, flag-mounted sign at 44 E. Federal St. with a similar Huntington sign and to add green vinyl above the entry door and on a window.

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/huntington-to-move-downtown-branch-put-mahoning-building-up-for-sale/  

5 hours ago, yanni_gogolak said:

Huntington to Move Downtown Branch, Put Mahoning Building Up for Sale

Wednesday, August 4, 2021 George Nelson

 

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Huntington National Bank plans to move its downtown branch into TCF Bank’s space in the Stambaugh Building and put its current space on the market, a bank official said Tuesday.

A relocation of the downtown Huntington branch from 23 Federal Plaza was signaled at Tuesday morning’s meeting of Youngstown’s design review committee, which considered a request submitted by Tonya Jefferson, representing LAAD Sign & Lighting of Ravenna, to replace TCF’s existing non-illuminated, flag-mounted sign at 44 E. Federal St. with a similar Huntington sign and to add green vinyl above the entry door and on a window.

 

https://businessjournaldaily.com/huntington-to-move-downtown-branch-put-mahoning-building-up-for-sale/  

So that now makes 3 "high rises" in Downtown Youngstown for sale. Not a great sign in my opinion but at least it opens up some potential. I think there's definitely a market to turn one of these buildings into apartments. All of the current apartment buildings seem to be fully occupied and it's been several years since the last luxury apartment project in Downtown.

On 8/4/2021 at 1:55 PM, Dblcut3 said:

So that now makes 3 "high rises" in Downtown Youngstown for sale. Not a great sign in my opinion but at least it opens up some potential. I think there's definitely a market to turn one of these buildings into apartments. All of the current apartment buildings seem to be fully occupied and it's been several years since the last luxury apartment project in Downtown.

My first thought when I read this wasn't about another building for sale, but that another great bank lobby is going to be vacant.  While I agree there's probably enough demand for more apartments in these prime locations, I'm not sure there's enough demand for high-end restaurants.  Which is what seems to be the default idea for reuse of these grand spaces.

 

I had thought about switching my bank accounts to Huntington, just so I could experience that bank lobby more often.  But my new employer uses direct deposit, so I didn't.  I guess it's a good thing I didn't switch.

22 hours ago, JRC said:

My first thought when I read this wasn't about another building for sale, but that another great bank lobby is going to be vacant.  While I agree there's probably enough demand for more apartments in these prime locations, I'm not sure there's enough demand for high-end restaurants.  Which is what seems to be the default idea for reuse of these grand spaces.

 

I had thought about switching my bank accounts to Huntington, just so I could experience that bank lobby more often.  But my new employer uses direct deposit, so I didn't.  I guess it's a good thing I didn't switch.

Downtown's just in a weird position. Not a lot of people go down there, and COVID has really set it back. In fact I still don't think all the bars reopened and there's noticeably less people compared to summer of 2019. That being said, I truly think that Downtown could become a really popular entertainment destination if a bunch of nice restaurants and bars moved in all at once; it's in a weird position where there's not enough stuff down there to draw in huge crowds, which then means not enough motivation to invest in new businesses down there. The absolute collapse of in-person office workers post-COVID has also made this problem even worse and has even caused the only coffee shop Downtown to close. I think overall Downtown is still moving in a good direction, but it really needs some type of shot in the arm to get more suburbanites to make Downtown their go-to drinking/entertainment and restaurant destination. 

This is great news for many locals!

 

Youngstown's Golden Dawn owner eyes September reopening

 

Friday, August 13th 2021, 7:11 AM EDT

Updated: 2 hrs 22 mins ago

By Mike Gauntner

 

An iconic Youngstown restaurant that closed four years ago is slated to reopen next month, operated by the same family that served customers for decades.

 

https://www.wfmj.com/story/44518936/youngstowns-golden-dawn-owner-eyes-september-reopening?fbclid=IwAR2NcfaJIB378e9rWBxxJ7q9RA_FEAco82OMC6L7oSKGB-asi4GfyUnYxA8#.YRZWh5L-qSg.facebook