June 24, 20186 yr JSW Steel Investing $500 Million in Mingo Junction: JSW Steel announced yesterday that they are going to be investing $500 million into the former Acero Junction Plant in Mingo Junction, OH, a small town south of Steubenville. This will hopefully breathe some life back into Mingo, which has economically suffered for decades. The project will be divided into two phases, each of which will cost around $250 million. Phase one will modernize the hot strip mill by modernizing the arc furnace and slab caster. Phase two would add a second arc furnace. The company says they were attracted to the Ohio Valley due to the abundance of scrap metal and natural gas in the region. Mingo Junction officials hope this will bring their town's steel industry back for good. The former Acero Junction Plant: Mingo Junction is a pretty depressing town to drive through, but it is very interesting for sure. Most of the business district is completely abandoned and falling apart with crumbling steel mills dominating the skyline. The hilltop neighborhoods are where the better neighborhoods are these days. I will admit, I'm a bit skeptical to see Mingo become dependent on steel once again. Also, fun fact about Mingo Junction: It is the home town of Wild Cherry who released the 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music White Boy." Some photos around town in Mingo Junction: Weren't parts of The Deer Hunter shot in and around Mingo Junction? Deer Hunter= Yes, Mingo and Weirton. The steel mill is starting to pickup steam and will be in operation by August from what I've heard.
August 10, 20186 yr Hey guys! I made a Downtown Steubenville Photo Tour thread today! Make sure to check it out - it shows a lot of Downtown's old buildings and a few of the newer additions to the neighborhood!
May 31, 20214 yr Entities joining forces to build, rehab Steubenville homes https://wtov9.com/news/local/entities-joining-forces-to-build-rehab-steubenville-homes
December 20, 20213 yr New Bike Trail between Downtown and Steubenville Marina: I don't update this thread nearly enough, but I decided to go ahead and make a quick post! I was driving the other day and was surprised to see a new bike trail which connects the Downtown area (and the rest of the city) with the Steubenville Marina. I knew this project was being discussed but to be honest, I figured that it would never actually happen. But, they built it and it seems finished now! The trail creates a safe pedestrian and bike crossing with a marked crosswalk with traffic lights going across the four lane OH-7 highway. It then goes one block down to the marina access road - sadly the marina and the road to get there are still in subpar shape, but this at least shows the city is committed to improving the area slowly. It's got some great views of the bridge from down there if any of you are ever in Jefferson County! The only picture I have is this one from October sadly:
March 14, 20223 yr New Coffee Shop in Restored Goucher Hotel Building in Toronto: I have some good news to report out of my hometown, Toronto, Ohio! I was thinking recently how much potential there is in the main street, which still has a solid block of uninterrupted streetwall on both sides of the road, and was casually looking around the area on Google Maps when I noticed that a new coffee shop had opened in an old building on Fourth Street! So naturally, when I visited my family down in Jefferson County this week, I had to make a stop there to support the new business! Tri B's Coffee Shop is located in the now beautifully restored Goucher Hotel Building, which was most recently used as a haunted house. The interior is beautiful and rivals the "hip" coffee shops I've seen in much bigger cities. They also lined the walls with bricks made in town (with "TORONTO" imprinted on them) and had lots of cool Toronto historical photos and artifacts hanging up! I'm pretty sure the bricks, based on the color, were reused from the old high school which would be really cool if true. Overall, I'm a bit nervous though - I'm not sure if the town can sustain a coffee shop like this. But I will say, it did good business while I was hanging out there, and the town does come together to support its businesses! Plus it was fun listening to all the townsfolk coming in and asking questions like "Oat milk? Now how the hell do they make that?!" in a full Yinzer dialect! 😁 The Goucher Hotel Building: Fourth Street Building Restoration in Toronto with New Restaurant Location: On the same block, another old brick building has gotten some life breathed back into it by a local (a great guy and something of a hometown legend I might add!) and is now home to the new Baby Boyz Barbecue location! Luckily, they decided to stay in Downtown Toronto and now have a much better location. I can't find a great picture of the whole building, but here's a before and after I found on the Baby Boyz Facebook page: So could Toronto finally be becoming something interesting? I sure hope so! I love the town and it has really good bones still. The whole town is very walkable and the commercial district has so much potential. It's dense and walkable enough that it feels like a neighborhood in a much bigger city rather than just a small town. I'm biased, but I also think it's by far the best maintained town along the Upper Ohio River Valley. But hey, with the new coffee shop and the surprisingly great taco place that opened a few years ago in an old car wash down the road, I may have to consider moving back home to the "Gem City" after all! 😁 Rusty Bull Taco Company:
March 14, 20223 yr Author 6 hours ago, Dblcut3 said: I may have to consider moving back home to the "Gem City" after all! The what now? "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 14, 20223 yr 6 hours ago, ColDayMan said: The what now? Everyone knows Toronto is the real Gem City, not Dayton! 😁
March 14, 20223 yr Author "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 15, 20223 yr Steubenville news, Franciscan Square: https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2022/02/franciscan-square-development-to-continue/ This next phase of Franciscan Square development is expected to complement the existing restaurants and office spaces that have been operating at the site since 2018. When complete, the mixed-use development will add 12,000 to 16,000 square feet of professional space, 14,000 square feet of retail and dining space and 16 to 24 private residences.
May 15, 20223 yr Well, I like the look of the mixed-used buildings individually, but the grounds still look very much built to automotive scale, not human scale. I know Steubenville is a comparatively small town and so space isn't at the kind of premium that forces good urban design as a matter of near-necessity in denser urban-core-adjacent neighborhoods, but still, I worry that they're leaving some intrinsic benefits of mixed-use buildings and neighborhoods on the table proceeding like this, even though I'm also sure it's an improvement compared to what would have been built in that area 20 or 30 years ago.
May 15, 20223 yr 29 minutes ago, Gramarye said: Well, I like the look of the mixed-used buildings individually, but the grounds still look very much built to automotive scale, not human scale. I know Steubenville is a comparatively small town and so space isn't at the kind of premium that forces good urban design as a matter of near-necessity in denser urban-core-adjacent neighborhoods, but still, I worry that they're leaving some intrinsic benefits of mixed-use buildings and neighborhoods on the table proceeding like this, even though I'm also sure it's an improvement compared to what would have been built in that area 20 or 30 years ago. Honestly in Steubenville, any development is good even if it's auto-centric. But the neighborhood is already pretty auto-centric and isn't even that well connected to the university since there's a big steep hill between them. As long as they maintain sidewalks through the whole development, I'm good with it personally.
December 9, 20222 yr On a recent visit to Steubenville, I noticed a major improvement underway to one of my favorite buildings: the terra cotta-clad Sinclair Building. The 1960s era cladding has been removed and lots of detail remains underneath.
May 7, 20232 yr Plans for a permanent ice skating rink at Franciscan Square: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/plans-unveiled-for-permanent-ice-skating-rink-at-franciscan-square/ar-AA1aBSYT
May 8, 20232 yr Another building in Downtown got its ugly mid-century era facade removed, and wow is it an improvement! I think there's plans to make this building into a brewery or something if I remember correctly: I also noticed that Hunan Chinese, which has been open for ages, shut down and is now going to be home to a Tex-Mex restaurant called "Fourth Street Standard." It looked like a lot of the interior work is already done to. As for Martoni's Pizza next store, I have no clue what the deal is with that place. They put a lot of work into it and did a soft opening but it's been about 2 years now and they still never opened. I will say though, it might be the worst pizza I've ever had 😁 Downtown is also home to a really fancy looking cigar store called Chesterton & Company... like most businesses in Downtown, it's tied to Franciscan University/the Nelson Family. It's kind of funny, Steubenville's going through a weird Catholic-gentrification. I'm not complaining though because investment from the Franciscan University community in the rest of the city has been long overdue. Lastly, Steubenville Big Red High School is building a new STEM campus next to the high school. It's being built currently and will look surprisingly urban when it's done and will bring a much needed new building to Downtown.
May 8, 20232 yr 6 hours ago, Dblcut3 said: Another building in Downtown got its ugly mid-century era facade removed, and wow is it an improvement! Blows my mind how anyone thought that s**t looked good. I guess it’s better than it having been torn down, so at least it was fixed.
August 4, 20231 yr Steubenville had joined the Strong Towns movement. They have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/people/Strong-Towns-Steubenville/100094653580323/ They also had a "Cycle the City" event last Saturday: https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2023/07/steubenvilles-cycle-the-city-to-promote-health-active-transit/
August 4, 20231 yr 20 minutes ago, gildone said: Steubenville had joined the Strong Towns movement. They have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/people/Strong-Towns-Steubenville/100094653580323/ They also had a "Cycle the City" event last Saturday: https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2023/07/steubenvilles-cycle-the-city-to-promote-health-active-transit/ I don't think there's much of anything going on that way though
January 23Jan 23 Developer's $12 Million Plan for Steubenville Sinclair Building Seeks Local & State Contributions https://wtov9.com/news/local/developers-12m-plan-for-sinclair-building-seeks-local-state-collaboration This is a pretty ambitious plan, and I'm skeptical that it'll get done, but it's really encouraging to see some plans being made to renovate one of Steubenville's historic highrises. The plan seems to be retail on the first level with market rate apartments above. It's a really beautiful building from 1915 - restoring it would be an amazing way to honor the city and the whole Valley's history. Apparently the developers only need to fill a $2 million gap in funding to get the project going - although, maybe I'm just pessimistic, but it seems too good to be true for a developer to take a leap of faith like this in a city like Steubenville Downtown Steubenville still has a long way to go, but it's seen a lot of reinvestment, particularly from people affiliated with Franciscan University. The annual Nutcracker Village Festival in particular has grown into a huge driver of tourism for the town in particular. Fourth Street has also seen a couple new businesses including Chesterton & Co. Cigars (which I think is drawing some people from around the wider region in) and Steubenville Grocery Box, which is a fresh food market with both programs for low income shoppers and people who want to purchase healthy local products.
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