Business Journal Classic: Tumultuous P. J. Schmitt Project
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Peter J. Schmitt Co. grocery distribution center in North Jackson that opened in 1989 amid much hoopla – and much controversy – operated for just a few years. The building, which today houses a much expanded fulfillment center for Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, would herald the development of western Mahoning County into a warehousing and distribution hub.
But first came the turf war.
“Signed, Sealed, Almost Delivered – Schmitt Distribution Center Is Coming to North Jackson,” declared the front-page headline of the May 1989 edition of The Business Journal. Seneca, N.Y.-based Schmitt had executed a land option for 121 acres in North Jackson, where it had planned to construct a 600,000-square-foot grocery distribution center, the story reported. READ MORE
Business Journal Classic: North Star Steel and Vallourec
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The restart of a Youngstown steel mill in the mid-1980s would lead eventually to a globally recognized economic development project taking place in the Mahoning Valley decades later.
“Mini-Mill to Be Born Again” declared the headline of the Youngstown Business Journal’s March 1985 edition. North Star Steel, a subsidiary of Cargill Inc., was planning to buy the vacant Hunt Steel (Youngstown Sheet & Tube’s former Brier Hill Works), if U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the Minneapolis-based company’s $22.5 million offer. READ MORE
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Video: Giving the Valley a Lift for 40 Years
We’re celebrating 40 years of The Business Journal by looking back on our publication’s very first success story, the Western Reserve Transit Authority. WATCH
40 Years of The Business Journal
To commemorate our 40th year of proudly publishing The Business Journal, we’ll revisit economic development initiatives and newsmakers and ponder: What worked and what didn’t? Where are they now?
We could not foresee the changes that have taken place in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys since 1984, when the region was still reeling from Black Monday and seeking a quick-fix to move forward. READ MORE
