Returns and a New Beginning in Downtown Youngstown

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – International Towers residents will begin returning to their homes Wednesday after spending more than two months away because of the Realty Tower explosion.

The roughly 170 residents of the building located next to the Realty Tower had to leave their homes in mid-June because of concerns about the potential collapse of Realty. The May 28 gas explosion at Realty killed one man, injured several others and also displaced Realty Tower residents. 

International Towers’ residents return “will be done in small groups” and take a few days, said Bob Hannon, president of United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

Demolition of Realty started July 12 and continues, though city fire Chief Barry Finley declared in a news release Monday that the work had reached a level where surrounding buildings and Federal Plaza can reopen in phases.

The Stambaugh Building, which houses the DoubleTree by Hilton Youngstown Downtown hotel, has been closed since the explosion. The city news release said the building was cleared Monday to reopen immediately.

A post on the hotel’s social media said it will reopen at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

“The Team at the DoubleTree is very excited to begin welcoming travelers to the city again,” Steve Mitchell, general manager, said in an email.

Mark Canzonetta, owner of the former Bistro 1907, announced during a Monday news conference that his restaurant inside Stambaugh will reopen with a new name, Casa di Canzonetta, and a new concept. 

“We wanted to bring my version of Italy back downtown,” he said.

The name means House of Canzonetta, and the concept stems from his Italian heritage. He described it as family oriented and old-school rather than modern Italian style.

“It’s everything I’ve grown up with in my life, everything I’ve done in my career,” Canzonetta said, adding that his first restaurant specialized in Italian food.

Art of vintage Italian culture will decorate the restaurant interior. 

“We have been behind the scenes working on this for quite some time,” Canzonetta said. “This is actually a restaurant that we wanted to do after we opened up Bistro and the downtown was so alive back in 2018.”

The Covid pandemic sidelined those plans.

“We felt that on May 28, sadly, when the explosion happened, that Bistro that day kind of died along with that explosion,” Canzonetta said. “It was a great six years with trials and tribulations, but we felt that Youngstown needs a phoenix rising from the ashes.”

The tentative reopening is set for Sept. 30 – by reservation only at first to ensure a smooth start.

The restaurant will still offer a weekend brunch and some of Bistro’s popular cocktails, including espresso and pineapple martinis, as well as new offerings from the bar.

Canzonetta said he’s maintained about 60% of the staff he had before the explosion, and he’s hiring to fill the remaining slots.

The news release from the city said International Towers can reopen Wednesday “pending the removal of demolition debris currently blocking the building’s fire escape.”

The United Way took the lead in relocating International Towers residents and working with the building’s Millennia Housing Management and other nonprofits to ensure residents’ needs were met.

Catholic Charities, Direction Home, Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership and the city were involved in the work.

Roxann Sebest, United Way vice president, said the order in which residents return to International Towers is based on the facility where residents are staying.

Those include homes of families, hotels, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Some residents have their own transportation, while others need to have transportation arranged, Sebest said.

“We want to do it in the most organized way possible,” she said.

While the demolition of Realty continues, the city’s Board of Control at a meeting Monday approved a $62,982.39 payment to MS Consultants “for providing oversight as it relates to city-owned infrastructure surrounding the Realty Building for the duration of the demolition.”

At the meeting, Charles Shasho, city deputy director of public works, said he’s requesting an ordinance for the next council meeting to have someone draw up plans for bid documents to rebuild the portion of Federal Street that was damaged in the explosion.

“There’s sidewalk and curb that needs replaced,” he said. “There’s lighting that needs to go back up. … Basically, whatever work Marucci & Gaffney did, it has to be replaced.”  

Shasho wants the work to start in September and be completed in November.

George Nelson contributed to this report.

Pictured at top: Mark Canzonetta announced a new name and concept for his restaurant, formerly Bistro 1907. When the restaurant on the first floor of the Stambaugh Building in downtown Youngstown reopens, it will be named Casa di Canzonetta, with a menu of Italian offerings.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.