WARREN, Ohio – The March 6 announcement that Youngstown and Warren had been awarded more than $3.3 million in Ohio Residential Economic Development District funds to build workforce housing was welcome news for the Mahoning Valley’s two largest cities.  

The Valley, as well as the rest of the country, faces a shortage of affordable, desirable housing. That’s an economic development as well as a humanitarian problem. Companies are attracted to the Valley because of its low cost of living, access to highways and educational institutions, but employees of those companies need places to live. 

The infrastructure funding awarded earlier this month will help move that goal a little closer.

Youngstown’s $2.5 million award will support the development of up to 220 units through an infill housing initiative, collaboration between Youngstown, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., Mercy Health Youngstown and other community partners.  

The money will be used to improve roads, sidewalks, lighting and other public infrastructure, while also connecting new homes to existing water and sewer systems. Many of the houses will be constructed on vacant lots owned by the city and the Mahoning County Land Bank. 

The $851,000 grant to Warren will support the Peninsula Project, which was announced in February 2025 to create 306 new housing units, including apartments and townhomes. The funding will be used to modernize water and sewer main lines and upgrade surrounding public infrastructure, enabling higher-density development in the project area. The improvements are intended to support a mix of housing types.

Development agencies in the region, including the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, Western Reserve Port Authority, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, Forward Lawrence and Penn-Northwest Development Corp., have identified housing as a critical element in luring new businesses and growing existing ones. An attractive job is less attractive if there’s no place to live.  

Organizations such as Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership in recent years have shifted from removing blighted properties to salvaging structures that can be saved and building new houses on now-empty lots. 

Every bit of help the Valley can get is welcome.