YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – What is being described as a strategic reboot plan for downtown Youngstown is envisioned as a starting point for future redevelopment efforts in the four-county region.

Lake to River Economic Development announced Oct. 31 that grants totaling $100,000 will be used to conduct the plan focusing on downtown Youngstown. JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development corporation, will provide a $50,000 grant that the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber Foundation will match with its own $50,000 grant.

“This is a great example of the resources Lake to River hopes to bring together,” Alexa Sweeney Blackann, the organization’s interim CEO, said. “This is the start of other opportunities that we hope JobsOhio and Lake to River can bring to our four-county region.”

The JobsOhio Pre-Project Planning Grant is part of a program designed to help communities take a project from the idea phase to the implementation phase and to attract future investment, business activity and jobs, according to the grant announcement. The $50,000 grant is the largest of its kind awarded since JobsOhio launched the program in 2019.

“JobsOhio’s Planning Grant is intended to lift downtown Youngstown in the short term while empowering a local vision that can catalyze future economic success,” said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and CEO. “We and our partners at Lake to River are looking to build on existing relationships to spark more business and activity in the heart of downtown Youngstown for years to come.”

Lake to River, the JobsOhio partner established earlier this year to represent Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, sought the funds for the downtown plan following the May 28 natural gas explosion at Realty Tower.

The explosion killed a Chase Bank employee and displaced the tenants of the building’s 23 apartments. Concerns over the building’s stability shuttered the adjacent International Towers apartment building and Stambaugh Building for weeks. Realty was demolished over the summer.

Blackann said while the explosion began the conversation, the purpose of the grant goes beyond a single downtown building.

“It’s really about who are we in the future? What will we do together? What opportunities are available beyond the Realty building, specifically. And what do we want to put our focus behind?” Blackann said.

Investments such as these in planning are often catalytic, she said. “It lets you study the market,” including what buildings are available, “and gets partners in the community thinking about the opportunities available in a downtown like Youngstown.”

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber will co-lead the project by engaging and gathering data from key stakeholders in downtown. The emphasis will be on creating a locally tailored plan, promoting advocacy for incentives and business attraction and identifying sector gaps for future growth.

Downtown Youngstown has faced “significant challenges in recent years,” Guy Coviello, chamber president and CEO, said. “We are proud to match JobsOhio’s funding to help reboot and transform downtown and look forward to collaborating with partners to foster long-term economic growth.”

Downtown businesses suffered from reduced business during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which closed hospitality establishments for weeks and led many workers to leave downtown. Ongoing road projects over the past four-plus years also have restricted downtown activity.

Economic Action Group, a local organization, developed the reboot strategy/re-envision plan and will facilitate its execution. The plan will be organized into two phases, starting with developing the reboot strategy.

“It’ll be engaging with downtown stakeholders to find the emerging trends,” said Nick Chretien, EAG cofounder and executive director.

“The goal will be to collaborate with local and regional planning partners to develop a strategy that addresses both immediate and long-term needs downtown,” he said.

Within the next few months, EAG hopes to have the first phase finished – immediate action steps that could be recommended to be undertaken through partners such as the recently formed downtown Planning Committee, Chretien said.

Such steps could be taken in the next six months or at least by the end of the first half of 2025. Then there would be recommendations for longer-term actions over the next three to five years.

Phase two encompasses the “downtown re-envision” and action plan and seeking funding sources to cover the costs of implementation, Chretien said.

Pictured at top: A panoramic view shows the land where the Realty Tower stood and the stretch of East Federal Street that needs to be rebuilt.