VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Demolition of the former Eastern Gateway Community College parking deck in downtown Youngstown should be underway by Aug. 31 and completed by the end of this year, a Western Reserve Port Authority official said Wednesday.

“We’ll probably open bids for the parking garage by July,” Randy Partika, WRPA director of engineering and construction, said during a presentation at a meeting of the port authority’s board of directors. Bids to demolish the massive structure at 39. S. Champion St. would likely be awarded at the board’s July 15 meeting, he said.  

Patrika said he expects the cost for demolition to fall somewhere between $2.5 million and $3.5 million. 

However, he emphasized the demolition would not begin until after the downtown events and festival season comes to a close and the building’s sole tenant, the Mocha House restaurant, is firmly established at its new location at 101 E. Boardman St.

WRPA acquired both buildings in September from Eastern Gateway Community College. The plan is to raze the parking deck in preparation for the development of a new, potentially $60 million government center for Mahoning County. 

Partika said bids for Mocha House’s new site build-out and renovation should be opened by May 13 and a contract awarded by May 20. “We want to get the Mocha House moved across the street by Aug. 1, and then they’re going to probably have to be shut down for two weeks as they move their kitchen equipment over,” he said. “So, hopefully Mocha House will be open by the middle of August.”

Demolition plans on the garage should be finished by June 1, while work would begin Aug. 31 at the earliest, after downtown hosts one of its major events, the Panerathon. The Panerathon is an annual 10K/2-mile fun run and walk event that raises money for the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. The event draws hundreds of participants and thousands of patrons downtown. 

“We want to wait until all the big festivals in downtown Youngstown are complete,” Patrika said. “Hopefully, we’ll complete the demolition by the middle of December.”

Economic Development Projects

The board also approved several measures pertaining to development projects across the Mahoning Valley. Among these was enabling WRPA Executive Director Anthony Trevena to enter into a subrecipient agreement with Trumbull County to move a major infrastructure project forward that supports the $800 million Kimberly-Clark development.

The project involves construction and redevelopment of an east-west access connecting Pine Avenue with state Route 45, just south of where Kimberly-Clark is building its new manufacturing complex near Warren, Partika said. 

“It’s to improve the access to Kimberly-Clark,” Partika said. The road would provide a direct route just south of the plant’s entrance to state Route 45 in Lordstown, which would provide easier access to and from the interstate highway system, bypassing the need for trucks to move through downtown Niles or Warren.

Partika said the project was awarded a $17.5 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development. To secure the money, however, a subrecipient agreement is needed with Trumbull County since the Trumbull County Engineer’s Office would hold contracts for design and construction. 

At its meeting Wednesday, the Board of Trumbull County Commissioners approved the susprecipient agreement.

Trumbull County Engineer David DeChristofaro told the board that the county is prepared to sign agreements with three consulting engineers for the three-phase project. “These consultants have been waiting weeks and weeks to get started,” he said. “We’re ready to roll.”

Design work could begin next week, he said. Design for the first phase – which constitutes rehabilitating an existing roadway on the western portion – should be finished this year, and the second phase should be completed by the end of 2026. 

The third phase, which includes the construction of a new road and a bridge over the Mahoning River, would take several more years, DeChristofaro said. “We’re hoping by 2029, we’re ready to roll some trucks down that road from Kimberly-Clark.”

In other matters, the port authority board approved executing documents related to a capital lease to assist an $18.5 million project to redevelop the former Mahoning Bank building in downtown Youngstown.

Existing tenants that have opted to stay in the building have been relocated to the first four floors of the 13-story building, said Nick Chretien, WRPA manager of planning and redevelopment. “The remaining nine floors will be residential,” he said. 

The port board also approved the renewal of a cooperative agreement with the city of Warren, where the WRPA is working with the city on the Peninsula project. In addition, the board voted to approve a quit claim deed for 1915 Belmont Ave. to Mahoning County, where the new Mahoning County Veterans Service Center is located.