YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The strategy to address Mahoning Valley housing should involve development of a housing consortium, an emerging developers training program, coordinated zoning corrections, downpayment assistant programs and the proactive assembly of land.
Those are the regional recommendations of a housing study released Thursday morning by Eastgate Regional Council of Governments and the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber at the main branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. Eastgate paid for the study by the Greater Ohio Policy Center and the Reinvestment Fund.
“What we found is the area is really primed for economic development,” said Jim Kinnick, Eastgate executive director. “The employers, the businesses, the site selectors that come here, the first question they ask is where are our employees going to live.”
Employees of new businesses often live outside the area such as in Cranberry, Pa., or Hudson, Ohio, because they couldn’t find housing that met their needs, he said.
“We want to make a robust housing stock so we keep those people in our region,” Kinnick said.
The study found that there’s enough housing in Mahoning and Trumbull counties to meet current and projected housing trends, but what’s here doesn’t match the needs of those seeking it.
That includes problems with the conditions of homes, affordability and housing size.
“It’s a focus on everything,” Kinnick said. “We want to start with housing repair. We want to start with infilling some of the neighborhoods by assembling more land. We’re also looking at some opportunities in our suburbs.”
Alison Goebel, executive director of the Greater Ohio Policy Center, said the center spoke to about 125 people in developing the housing strategy documents. That included representatives from community leaders and neighborhood residents.
She said GOPC works with other communities across the state, similar to the Valley in terms of losing population and industry and working to reinvent themselves.
“The challenges that exist in the region here are not unique,” Goebel said. “You see this in places like Toledo, Cleveland, Appalachia. There are also a lot of opportunities and a lot of energy here that we’re really excited about. That’s really encouraging. It gives me confidence that the strategy and the tools that it offers are going to be implemented.”
Collaboration
Each of the recommendations will be led by organizations with expertise in those respective areas.
Justin Mondok, Eastgate director of planning and development, said the housing strategy will move forward using shared responsibility, collaboration and shared leadership.
“Housing is not an issue that any one organization or sector can solve on their own,” he said.
It brings together nonprofit organizations, businesses, government agencies and others.
The housing consortium, one of the study’s recommendations, will serve as the hub of the strategy, bringing stakeholders together, Mondok said.
“This intermediary body is going to ensure that the diverse perspectives of our region are continuing to be heard and coordinated in the work that’s getting done,” he said.
It’s a long-term focus area, Mondok added.
“This is really going to be the primary focus of Eastgate moving forward … how do we make sure we’re doing this in a thoughtful and methodical way,” he said.
The recommendation says a paid housing consortium director should be hired, who will report to a consortium board.
Eastgate also will lead the effort to coordinate zoning corrections across the region.
The Regional Chamber will lead the downpayment assistance programs recommendation; Valley Partners will be involved with development of an emerging developers training program; and the land banks and the Western Reserve Port Authority will lead the assembly of land.
Guy Coviello, chamber president and CEO, said when the chamber started to hear from members that employees had to live far away from the Valley, the chamber alerted Eastgate, which contracted for the study.
Repopulation
The study also ties in with the two entities’ repopulation efforts for the region.
“When we realized that we were creating more jobs than we had people to fill those jobs, we sought to increase the population, and then we were hit with, well, if we increase the population there aren’t enough places for people to live.”
The area lost many builders during the 2008 recession, and there hasn’t been a lot of residential construction, he said.
Regarding the chamber’s role in implementing the housing strategy recommendations, Coviello said it has been meeting with a group of employers, lenders, builders and others to develop ways to move forward.
That involves introducing the idea of downpayment assistance provided by employers to employees as a way to attract and retain them.
“Employers are very receptive to that because attracting and retaining employees is a primary focus for them right now,” Coviello said.
717’s Role
The chamber president said 717 Credit Union has been one of the most helpful partners involved with the housing strategy. When the housing council is put together, it will be chaired by John Demmler, 717 president and CEO.
“We know this is something that requires all organizations, all financial institutions, all developers to make it successful,” Demmler said.
Last October, 717’s board of directors voted to commit $100 million in community reinvestment dollars for housing initiatives in northeastern Ohio.
“We’ve already put together a $7 million program in Warren for facade renovation,” he said.
It’s also working with the city of Youngstown for a $3 million facade renovation program and a $2 million landlord renovation program and a $35 million new construction program that will focus on infill housing, as well as the urban core, Demmler said.
The credit union will also be engaged in the downpayment assistance efforts, he said.
Assessing Housing Needs
The housing strategy report, broken into several parts, assesses housing needs across the counties, evaluates housing stock and population trends and lists regional and local recommendations.
It found that by 2050, the population of Trumbull and Mahoning counties is expected to drop by 19.7% and 22.4%, respectively. Goebel pointed out that those trends could change.
“Technically, there are enough housing units currently in Mahoning and Trumbull counties to house current and projected populations,” the report said. “But the conditions of some homes fall short of market expectations.”
It found that in 2022, there were 183,725 households in Mahoning and Trumbull counties and 202,462 housing units – a surplus of more than 18,000 units.
“However, these units are not well matched to the population in terms of size and condition,” the report said. And a proportion of Valley households are in homes that cost more than they can afford. Plus, existing houses tend to be larger than needed to house the existing and projected populations.
Between the two counties, 66% of the housing stock has at least three bedrooms, but only 30% of current households are large enough to need a house of that size, assuming one bedroom per person.
“On the flip side, 70% of households are 2 people or less but only 34% of the housing stock have 2 bedrooms or less,” the report said.
It also points out that greenfield development will be difficult considering population projections and instead suggests the priority be developing on vacant land within developed areas.
By 2050, both counties’ population are projected to drop by about 20%. Projections are more positive for job growth, but there still isn’t enough population growth to keep infrastructure costs like taxes and fees where they are.
But there are large numbers of vacant parcels within developed areas, and those should be priority sites for new development.
“New development on sites without existing infrastructure will become very expensive for all ratepayers over time,” the report said. “Greenfield development should only be done for highly strategic purposes.”
Smaller projects that fill existing lots or are already on the utility grid “will throw off outsized benefits to their neighbors and promote revitalization and neighborhood stability more widely than projects sited alone or disconnected from other development,” according to the report. “These types of development will stabilize the neighborhoods they are in by improving housing stock, attracting new residents, and raising property values.”
Smaller-scale projects also are needed to establish proof of concept for smaller housing options, such as cottage homes or accessory dwelling units that better meet the needs of the Valley’s existing and projected populations, the report said. That includes multifamily projects such as quads, duplexes and six-plexes.
It also says retrofitting and renovating existing properties will lead to neighborhood stabilization and higher property values.
When new construction happens, it should prioritize smaller homes and apartments with proximity to amenities and infrastructure, the document lists.
Modernized and consistent zoning is also important.
“Zoning codes that curtail what housing developers can build and make small vacant lots non-conforming need to change to help unleash new development,” the housing strategy said. “These changes will need to happen at the local jurisdictional level but can also be augmented and supported regionally so that distinct zoning codes are similar and well-coordinated.”
Pictured at top: Jim Kinnick, executive director of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.