City to Dedicate New South Side Park Monday

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The new Clarence Robinson Park on the South Side will be dedicated at 10 a.m. Monday. The green space is in the 1700 block of Oak Hill Avenue, at West Chalmers Avenue, which is the site of the former Clarence Robinson Community Center.

Robinson was a successful local attorney who served on the city’s Park and Recreation Commission during the 1940s. He was a grandson of P. Ross Berry, famed local architect and master builder of many historically significant buildings in Youngstown.

Local clergy led a community march around the property in June 2015 out of respect for Robinson’s memory and to encourage the city to demolish the building named for Robinson, which had been vacant for about two decades and was collapsing. During the 1990s, the building was operated as a community center and briefly as a church.

The Mahoning County Land Bank acquired the property from Pettway Enterprises in January. The city completed the demolition in April, with financial support from nearbySt. Patrick Church and the Oak Hill Collaborative, a neighborhood revitalization center. Landscaping at the site was completed earlier this month.

The land bank will transfer ownership of the site to Oak Hill Collaborative, and Community Corrections Association will maintain the park .

“The creation of this park demonstrates the power of partnerships,” said Patrick V. Kerrigan, executive director of the Oak Hill Collaborative.

Pictured: The former Clarence Robinson Center, demolished to clear the site for the new park.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.