YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Only a gravel lot remains at the site of what was the Realty Tower, the downtown Youngstown building damaged by the underground natural gas explosion May 28 that took the life of a Chase Bank employee. Even the marker erected to commemorate the landmark property is gone.
No plans have been announced for the site. Years of litigation await the property owners, the contractors working there the day of the explosion, the utility company responsible for the gas lines and likely others. This quagmire will delay any determination of who will retain ownership of the site and what resources will be available for redevelopment.
In the meantime, would it be that difficult – legally or cost-prohibitive – to do some landscaping and provide greenery and benches at the site so that it doesn’t remain an ugly scar on the downtown for months (maybe years) on end?
The explosion, which left the Stambaugh Building and International Towers closed for some three months, shattered the momentum downtown was slowly regaining with the end of the pandemic, which triggered an exodus of workers and emptied offices, many of which remain vacant. The Smart2 Network street construction project mounted further obstacles that downtown has yet to overcome.
Now the hard work begins of convincing Mahoning Valley residents to return to downtown venues and business owners to give the central city a second look.
On Oct. 19, the vital process of moving forward will be publicly launched with a daylong celebration titled The Open. The event will include activities at Oh Wow! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center and musical performances capped by a Red Wanting Blue concert. Downtown businesses will exclusively provide food and beverages. The event will coincide with the Youngstown Film Festival, a screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at Penguin City Brewing, and home games for the Youngstown State University football and Youngstown Phantoms hockey teams.
The Open is being presented by 717 Credit Union in conjunction with the city, JAC Management, United Way of Youngstown & the Mahoning Valley, Premier Bank and The Youngstown Foundation.
Come downtown for The Open. Then return again and again.