NILES, Ohio – Thursday wouldn’t have been the first time that Andrew Smith of Girard navigated the Mahoning River from the launch at the new Niles Riverside Park. A member of the Friends of the Mahoning River, he and some fellow canoers and kayakers paddled down to Girard about a month ago, while the park was still under construction.
The water was too high and too fast Thursday, but the 13-year paddler said he definitely plans to come back.
“It’s a very nice paddle, especially for beginners,” he said.
Smith was among the crowd that attended the grand opening and ribbon cutting of Riverside Park, part of the $3.5 million Downtown Riverfront Revitalization Project funded by the Appalachian Community Grant Program through the Governor’s Office of Appalachia’s Wonderful Waterfronts Initiative and Ohio Department of Development.
“This is the definition of truly delivering for the Niles community,” Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz said.
Ground was broken in early August on the park, located at First and Brown streets, and on the new Niles Public Square, which also was funded by the ACG program. Gov. Mike DeWine announced funding for riverfront-related projects in six Mahoning Valley communities, including Niles, in May 2024.
Before the Riverside Park project, the space was completely overgrown and the view of the river was obstructed, the mayor said. The city’s light department stored utility poles at the property, which had been owned by FirstEnergy.
“One of the things that the governor asked is that we do transformational projects,” said Mike Carey, director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia. “I think we can point at Riverside Park as an example of a transformational project that’s really going to serve the community and also draw more visitors in the community.”
Discussions among members of the Mahoning River Corridor Mayors Association about driving more river water recreation, opening the Mahoning River to navigation and spurring economic development using the river go back to 2018, Mientkiewicz said.
“The ultimate goal is to create a riverway, a waterway that offers quality of life recreation from the northern part of Trumbull County through Niles all the way to southern Mahoning County, and we’re almost there. Riverside Park is just another piece to this overall puzzle,” he said.
“This is an incredible project,” said Jim Kinnick, executive director of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. Working with river corridor communities, Eastgate has been spearheading efforts to remove the low-head dams along the waterway, with three more to come out at the end of this year or in early 2027.
“It is so exciting to see this realized, knowing that it started with just thoughts about how we can utilize a river in an area that no one wanted to get near,” said Katie Phillips, an urban planner with MS Consultants Inc. Phillips and her team designed the park and public square projects. Integra Excavating is the general contractor on both projects.
Mientkiewicz said several city residents he has spoken with expressed pride in the riverfront park. He also said the city has been in contact with several parties who are interested in opening businesses related to water recreation and transport services for canoes and kayaks.
Ideally, patrons of the park will drive or walk over the viaduct into downtown to eat, shop and drink, he said.
“People in business see the transformation not only at Riverside Park but at Niles Public Square,” he said. “People see the transformation, the kind of vibrant spark that we’ve always been looking for in the downtown area and as part of our revitalization efforts.”
Pictured at top: From left are Jim Kinnick, executive director of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz and John Carey, director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia.