Meeting on Robins Theater Takes Place Saturday

WARREN, Ohio — City residents and others interested in the project to restore the former Robins theater space downtown are invited to attend an interactive discussion and design charrette with The New School in New York City and Kent State University students Saturday.

The event will take place 1-4 p.m. at the Warren YWCA, 375 N. Park Ave., during which Garden District Strategies will be discussed, organizers say.

This weekend will kick-off the second year of a partnership between The Robins Project, a grassroots effort to restore the former Robins Theater space, and The New School. Students will be visit the city and speak with residents to better understand how the restoration of Robins Theater space may serve as a catalyst to revitalize Warren.

Last year students from The New School Urban Collaborative (Milano Finance Lab and Parsons School of Design Strategies) proposed ideas for what they deem an “integral city.” Their plans included financing options and proposals for how the  Robins building could be used, as well as design interventions to create a more vibrant downtown.

One of the recommended strategies, Commons Fest, took place Aug. 16 at Courthouse Square. The festival was intended as a reclamation of “the commons,” in which citizens participated in hands-on learning activities sponsored by area nonprofits.

The visiting students will connect with architecture majors from Kent State University, who will be generating ideas for vacant lots in the Garden District. Both groups of students will imagine a number of interventions and design strategies for downtown Warren through community engagement and participatory research methods.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.