WARREN, Ohio – Aggressive and strategic use of local, state and federal resources has helped leverage a handful of major projects spearheaded by the Western Reserve Port Authority over the past two years, its executive director said.

“We have about $76 million in grants that we’re working on right now,” Anthony Trevena told Mahoning and Trumbull County commissioners during the monthly meeting of the WRPA’s board of directors. 

These dollars have been deployed to support infrastructure improvements, site readiness, brownfield remediation, workforce development projects and airport/aviation initiatives throughout both counties, he said.  

Trevena presented the port authority’s annual report to commissioners Friday, highlighting the many improvements to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and major economic development projects underway.

Last year, the airport collected $104,000 in landing fees, generated $87,000 in fuel flowage, recorded hangar retention of 98.5% and accommodated 27,867 landings, Trevena reported, dispelling an assumption that there is little or no activity at the airport.

Moreover, Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna boasts 19 private and public sector employers and 177 employees, hosts 174 students, houses 48 aircraft and managed 123,000 flight operations between 2021 and 2025, Trevena reported.

“That’s a lot,” Trevena said. “It doesn’t sound like a closed airport to me.”

He also emphasized that the airport has 100% availability, meaning it never closes. “We had flights diverted from Akron/Canton and Cleveland to us because we were open,” he said. 

Other enhancements, such as pavement improvements to its main runways, are in progress.

Economic Development

The port authority also acts as an economic development partner across both Trumbull and Mahoning counties, Trevena added. To date, the entity owns 29 buildings, more than 2,140 acres and 18 development sites. 

Among the high-profile projects the port authority assisted with last year was Kimberly-Clark’s $800 million manufacturing plant under construction on former steel mill property in Warren.  To date, the project has installed 2,900 tons of steel, poured 40,000 cubic yards of concrete, purchased 600,000 cubic yards of slag and installed 1.2 million square feet of roofing.

A second project slated to begin in early September is the demolition of the former Eastern Gateway parking deck in downtown Youngstown, Trevena said. The deck is expected to be completely razed by the end of December. 

The port authority is working with the Board of Mahoning County Commissioners to construct a new county government center at the site.

“The amount of work and the help they’ve been to us with what we’re trying to do is just incredible for a small team,” Mahoning County Commissioner Geno DiFabio said. 

Other projects Trevena highlighted include:

  • The new $5.1 million building for the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission, which opened this year.
  • The Air Heritage Trail, a 1-mile trail shaped as a C-130 aircraft on airport grounds near the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, which is planned for a grand opening this year.
  • Support for the YNG Flight School at the airport in partnership with Youngstown State University, now still in its early phases of development.
  • Support for various housing efforts in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
  • Demolition of the Reeves Building in Warren.
  • Repurposing of the Youngstown Developmental Center to serve a range of social needs at the Campus of Care in Austintown.
  • Remediation and preparation of the former McGuffey Mall and Garland Plaza site on the east side of Youngstown. 

“You have really proven yourselves,” Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said. He noted the effort to build the county’s new government center in downtown Youngstown, adding, “It shows we’re putting an investment in a city and trying to maintain it, and yet bring it back for the future of our families.”

Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy concurred that partnerships with the port authority and other entities across the region have helped spur economic growth that many thought impossible 20 years ago. “We’ll see the results down the road,” he said. 

Both Mahoning and Trumbull counties contribute a portion of their hotel bed tax to the port authority each year. 

Ultimately, it’s economic development and job growth that are going to leverage new opportunities in the region, Trevena said. Such growth would spur attention toward bringing commercial air service to the airport and other enhancements. 

He emphasized incentives do not bring airlines to a community. “This is what will bring an airline, folks,” Trevena said. “Focusing on economic development and doing the things we need to do to create jobs.”

Pictured at top: Anthony Trevena, executive director of the Western Reserve Port Authority.